Sketchbook
by Chiisarin
Summary: These are the sketches of alternate realities, incomplete hints of what could have been. What if Gaara had a different family? What if it wasn't Ino who befriended Sakura but Neji? What if Anko had the Sharingan? Take a look. THIS IS MOSTLY AU
1. Black Cat

As usual, she sits in her lonely corner in the back of the classroom. Black strands of hair cover her lowered face, her nose in another scroll.

It is now that Iruka tells the genins of their new predicament: teams. Sakura, unlike her anxious whispering classmates, is not surprised. She had known that this would happen. Neji told her, the day she became a genin.

"Iruka-sensei will mostly likely be announcing the new genins teams soon." He had commented as they rested upon the grass after their usual evening training practice.

"Hm." Was her bland response. She was slightly curious, her mind buzzing slightly at this prospect. However, she knew she would accept her destiny as it is; ninjas can't always choose their comrades. "I wonder who my teammates will be…"

The winds fly. She waits for him, patiently staring the sky as he gathers up the words for what he wants to say.

"You know that…you are always welcome on Team Guy."

She smiles. Ah, so that was it.

"I'm still coming to those absurd morning practices, Neji. I'm not going to abandon the team. After all, imagine what Lee would do."

They both grin as they imagine a bawling puppy-face Lee.

"Of course." Neji agrees. "And if you have any trouble with your teammates, don't hesitate to call for help."

"Do you really think anyone could actually do anything to me?"

Neji, of course, had reminded her to not get too overconfident. She had replied by calling him a hypocrite.

And now, she sits silently, listening to the teams called. She watches in amusement as the Sasuke and Sai fangirls all are praying and sweating to the heavens, _Please let me be with -kun! _It is their voices who clamour over all others in Sakura's ears, the ones that are the most high-pitched, the most annoying.

"Augh, I'm probably going to be with Shikamaru and Chouji…." It is Ino who whines this complaint to the friend next to her, Shoyu. "Just because our fathers know each other doesn't mean we actually work well together!"

"Hehe…too bad sucker!! Watch, Sasuke-kun's going to be all mine!" Shoyu grins her fox-like grin, her hand curled into a fist of determination. Soft-spoken Hinata cuts in.

"I hope that I'm on the same team as Kiba-kun…" She practically breathes out. Though it has been two years since she has stopped stuttering, her voice still remains the quiet mouse it had been her whole life.

"Man, I just don't understand why you don't actually try talking to him."

Hinata's eyes widen with fear just at thinking about it.

"But…"

Shoyu whacks Hinata.

"Don't let Ino bully you into confessing. She's just mad that Sasuke doesn't pay attention to her."

Ino glares at Shoyu.

"And he does to you?"

"He's secretly thinking about me, I know it!"

Sakura can only smirk as she hears Iruka call out their team.

"Team 7: Yamanaka Ino, Uzumaki Shoyu, and Hyuuga Hinata."

A groan and a scream of frustration are heard…along with sigh of relief? Sakura looks to Sasuke and sees his normal grouchy face looking slightly uplifted for a moment. Then, as if sensing her look, he glances back at her, their eyes meeting for a brief moment. She flicks her gaze back to her book.

Distantly, she hears Iruka call the teams out.

"Team 8: Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, and Namaishi Ami…Team 10: Akimichi Choji, Nara Shikamaru, and Hagane Suzume…"

And finally her team is called.

"Last team of them all is Team 13: Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Sai."

Thirteen. It is an ominous number. Sakura lets out an annoyed sigh. Lovely, she got the "bishounen twins" as they had been dubbed. As for the name, she had no idea where it came from but apparently, Sai and Sasuke were "bishies" and even crazier then that idea was the belief that they looked alike.

Great, she's going to die a death by fangirls.

She gets up and tries to slink off into the shadows. Perhaps she might be unnoticed. Maybe the scary fangirls won't notice her at all.

"Oi! Haruno!"

Maybe not.

She turns her head slightly and sees orange out of the corner of her eye. Shoyu. The pigtailed girl rushes in front of Sakura's path and stops her before Sakura can completely formulate a plan of escape.

"I want to make a deal with you."

A deal? Sakura frowns. Unexpected. She'll give it a chance

"Specify."

Shoyu grins triumphantly.

"In exchange for you to introduce me to Sasuke (_As if he doesn't know your name by the way you hang onto him like a parasite_), I'll make sure none of the other girls do anything to you."

Sakura raises an eyebrow. Of course, any fangirl that would come after her would pose no trouble and the deal really had no merit to her at all. But Uzumaki Shoyu had many useful connections…

"I'll get Sasuke to spend the whole lunch break with you," Sakua starts and pauses, letting the words sink into Shoyu's mind. "…In return, I would like to have a favor."

Shoyu's eyes are already seeing Sasuke.

"What is it?" She asks excitedly.

"Nothing. Just a favor that I can cash in anytime I want. Fair?"

Shoyu latches onto Sakura's arm.

"Yes of course oh my god thank you so much you are so awesome oh my god oh my god Ino is going to be so jealous…" Shoyu begins to rant as she hugs Sakura. Before she knows it, Sakura is being dragged along to where Sasuke.

Sasuke flashes his eyes over her and the starry-eyed blonde beside her.

"Uchiha."

"Haruno."

Sakura pushes Shoyu forward.

"Spend the whole afternoon with her and I'll let you keep them."

She walks away, leaving Shoyu to Sasuke, who is wonderingly staring at the ear-plugs in his hand.

* * *

Sakura looks over her new sensei with wary eyes. The woman notices her stare and grins back, almost approvingly. 

They are in front of a forest, surrounded by large barbed fences and signs warning people away. Ominous trees cover overhead, their shadows falling upon the group. The Forest of Death.

"SO—" Anko Mitarashi looks over them all as she leans on the boundary separating them from the trees. "Let's get to know each other, eh? You know likes, dislikes, dreams, hobbies, all that dumb stuff. You first, chicken-hair."

Sasuke visibly bristles.

"Don't call me that."

Anko raises an eyebrow.

"Hmm? You don't like that nickname?" Anko taunts. She gives a fake sigh. "Pity, I spent so much time working on it."

Sakura watches as his eyes start to narrow and his hackles start to rise.

"Don't mock me." He growls out in a low tone. His hand flies to his—

FWISSH!

Anko has pinned him to the fence and kunai dangerously aimed at his neck. Its blade nicks his skin barely, allowing a little stream of blood to flow out.

"You're really in no position to challenge, little genin. I guess I'm going to have to teach you kids some common sense." Anko murmurs dangerously, her tone of voice making Sakura shiver. She throws Sasuke back onto his old spot. "Now be a good little boy, and introduce yourself!"

Sasuke pushes himself, refusing the hand offered to him by Sakura.

"Uchiha Sasuke." He grits out. "I hate many things, and there aren't many things I like. My dream is…to…resurrect my Clan and to kill a certain man."

Anko nods her lips slightly upturning, her eyes oddly glittering. She turns to Sasuke's left.

"Alright, you next Ghosty." She says as she points to Sai. Sai cocks his head, his face shining blankly.

"…Ghosty?" He asks. Anko grins.

"Yup, you remind me a ghost."

"My name is Sai. I like drawing. I dislike…most girls. My dream…I have yet to find one."

Anko nods again and turns toward Sakura.

"Blacky, your turn."

At least her nickname was good.

"I am Haruno Sakura. I like peace and studying. I dislike loud, arrogant, or annoying people. My dream is to become a strong kunoichi."

Anko claps her hands together.

"Alright then. Now for the test!" The three glance up, surprised. Her smile only gets wider. "What did you learn about me?"

The three are silent. Looking around, Sakura notices the glare on Sasuke's face and she can tell that he's holding back from saying something. Then as she looks to Sai, she watches as his eyes blink owlishly, showing his complete and utter lack of anything to say.

"Keh. You kids are pathetic. Surely you can say something?" Anko goads on.

Sakura jumps in.

"You don't like the idea of revenge."

Anko glances at Sakura, a happy smile on her face.

"Okay, where did you learn that?"

"When Sasuke mentioned his dream, you had a scary look on your face."

Anko nods excitedly.

"Go on, what else did you notice?"

"You're slightly immature and cocky, and probably messy too. Your fighting style most likely using taijutsu and attacking directly, before throwing in a genjutsu to throw off the enemy. And…" Sakura pauses and hesitates. "…you're an orphan?"

By now, Anko's eyes are shining and prideful. And are those…tears?

"YOU'RE PERFECT!!"

She rushes over and gives Sakura a bear hug, squeezing her limbs to death.

"You have so much potential," She cries on Sakura. "Oh, I'm so happy to have you on his team…"

Like a flash, Anko has pulled away, her mood instantly changing to condescending and disappointed. She looks upon the two boys.

"You two are pathetic. Keh. You better work hard tomorrow to gain my good graces, otherwise I might kick you guys off."

Sasuke scoffs.

"You can't do that."

Anko pounces on another chance to show Sasuke who has the power.

"Oh yes I can. I am perfectly within my authority to send your little genin butts back to the Academy, so you better be careful."

Anko claps her hands together.

"Now then, that's it for today. Meet up here tomorrow at…9:00. Dismissed!"

She flashes off. Sasuke follows suit, and just as Sakura is about to leave, Sai stops her.

"Haruno-san, may I walk you home?" He asks. Curious about his request, she agrees.

They walk at a leisurely pace. The sky is still bright with blue shades.

"Sai, what is it?"

She notices his slight frown.

"I…" She waits as he struggles for words. "…Would you be able to teach me what you just did? Show me how you were able to read Anko so well?"

_HAHHH?_

Sakura looks down and thinks about it. How could she teach…Well, Neji _did_ teach her…kind of…but could she teach Sai? How was she to teach something that she knew as second nature…Well…she should try…at least…

"Haruno-san?"

Sakura snaps out of her thinking and answers Sai's question.

"I could try to teach you…How about if our mission or our training session ends early, I could try to teach you something afterwards? That sound okay?"

Sai nods.

"…Yes."

For the rest of the way home, she tries to teach him what nicknames are used for and what can you get out a person with them. She can only hope that it does more good than harm.

* * *

They sit upon the grass as usual, resting from their training. 

"How's your new team?" Neji asks. Sakura smiles, knowing this would be the first question asked.

"I have Sai and Uchiha on my new team," Sakura says and watches Neji's face for a reaction. None, as usual. "My new sensei, Mitarashi Anko, however, says I have the most potential out of them all."

Neji slightly upturns his lips.

"Smart teacher. I like her."

Sakura can't help but feel giddy, recognizing the subtle compliment.

"Hey, Neji, when I have to fight, what do I do…" She asks. Neji folds his arms in thought.

"…What do you wish to do?"

Sakura thinks about it; what _did _she want to do…

"I do not want to show Uchiha or Sai that I know Hyuuga clan techniques…however, I think I should at least let my sensei know, for it is unfair to ask her to teach me when she doesn't know what I can do." Sakura says. Neji nods.

"I believe that to be a fair idea." Neji then turns to her. "But you will not risk your life to keep your skills a secret, is that understood?"

Sakura gives a mock salute.

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

She wakes up, as usual at 4:30. Never would she understand why Gai-sensei insists upon having his training sessions at 5:00 in the morning (something about the "The flower blooms the prettiest in the morning!"), but she complied with his schedule for the sake of being able to train with Team Gai. 

Half hour later, she finds herself at Team Gai's usual training spot, which happened to be in a forest with many flowers. Tenten, Lee and Gai-sensei are already there. They smile as they see her.

"Hey Sakura!" Tenten waves cheerily. "Tell us about your new team."

"Oh yes!! You must tell us if any of your team members are causing you trouble, for we will not hesitate to help!!" Lee proclaims.

Sakura smiles at Lee's antics. When she had first met him, when Neji had brought her along to one of their training sessions, he had proclaimed his love for her before asking her to be his girlfried. To Sakura's relief, Neji had answered for her with a definite _no_. Ever since then, Lee had been looking for ways to get into Neji's good graces so he could ask her out again.

"My teammates are Uchiha Sasuke and Sai. My sensei is Mitarashi Anko." Sakura turns to Gai-sensei. "Have you heard of her?"

Gai has a solemn look on his face.

"Oh yes, I know Mitarashi-san. She was a poor girl who had her Springtime of Youth die prematurely." Gai sighs dramatically while Sakura frowns. From what she had seen, Anko was quite the immature and childish one. "_However_, her connections are scary. I bet if you asked her to arrange training under one of the Sannins, she probably could do it."

Sakura raises her eyebrow, making sure to store it away.

"Oh you lucky girl Sakura!! You get to train with two hot guys!!" Tenten squeals, her occasional girl side showing. Lee looks appalled at Tenten's statement, probably thinking of the prospect of having more rivals for Sakura's heart.

"If you wish, I will gladly change spots with you then. I truthfully do not care much for them."

"That, I must say is a relief to hear."

The three turn to the Neji, who had just come. Sakura smirks.

"Oh don't worry, Neji-kun, you'll always be number one in my heart."

Neji gives her a glare that promises revenge.

* * *

AN: Summary - It's one of those Naruto becomes a girl stories...with a bit of a twist. 

Please tell me what ya think!!

Edit: A lot of people seem to be getting confused, so I'll try to clarify. These are plot bunnies, not one-shots or an actual story. Also, all lot of these are AU. Actually, I think all of them are. Thus, Sakura will often have black hair, Gaara might somehow meet Sakura when they're young, and Anko will get the Sharingan. And other questions? PM me and I'll try to answer.


	2. Hanami

"Saku-chan!" He calls to her shyly. He watches as her head shoots up and looks for the speaker. "Saku-chan, over here!"

It is then she spots him, a joyous smile alighting her usually downcast face.

"Gaara-kun!"

She runs over to him, and hugs him. He feels that blossoming feeling, the one he only feels with her. What was it called…happiness? Yes, he remembers now. Yashamaru told him about it one time.

"What are you doing here?" She asks as soon as she lets go of him. He feels his smile slip down. Sakura takes note of his silence.

"Gaara-kun, what's wrong?"

"I…I ran away…"

Sakura's bright eyes widen as she gasps.

"Why?"

"Yashamaru was mean to me…He yelled at me…and called me annoying…" Gaara mumbles out. He bites his lip, and looks down to hide his tears.

"What will you do now?" She asks. Here. This was the moment he was waiting for. He looks up, a determined look on his face, though he can feel himself shaking in fear.

"Saku-chan…w-will you run away with me?"

Sakura blinks owlishly, surprised.

"W-what?"

He looks down again, and shuffles around. He shouldn't have asked. He shouldn't have asked. She's going to say no…He shouldn't have asked.

"Where will we go?"

Gaara, surprised to hear a different answer from the one he was expecting is silent for a pause, before he answers animatedly.

"The Land of Lightning! Yashamaru told me about it!! He said it's really beautiful and pretty and happy!!" Gaara talks excitedly, telling Sakura of the tales Yashamaru had told him. He can see her eyes start to shine at the idea.

"Let me get my bag, before we go, okay?" She asks. Gaara nods, happy that she agreed to go.

"_Hold it._"

A girl steps out of the shadows.

"You're not going anywhere."

There stands Temari, glaring at her little brother. Gaara straightens up defiantly.

"No! I want to go!!"

"Think of how angry Father will be when he finds out you ran away!"

"I don't care about him. He doesn't love me!"

By now, sand has started to rise from the ground. Sakura takes hold of Gaara's hand.

"Gaara-kun, calm down. Temari-san, will let us go…" She turns her innocent eyes towards the other woman. "…Right?"

Temari looks at the sand, and then at Gaara, her eyes moving back and forth as she thinks. Her shoulders slump.

"Fine."

The sand slowly starts to fall down.

"_But_, I will go with you. I don't want to be responsible for the death of you kids."

The two kids squeal and yell their happiness together, while the nine-year-old Temari shakes her head.

"So…which way is the Land of Lightning?"

Silence.

* * *

"Yugito-sensei, is it true that we're going to participate in Konoha's Chuunin Exam this year?" 

The cat-like woman looks up to see her black-streaked pink-haired student run and screech to a stop in front of her. She raises an eyebrow.

"Oh? You've heard about it already?"

Sakura smirks.

"Library gossip."

Ah yes, Sakura was the unofficial librarian, having spent so much time there studying that it had become a second home. Thus, she got onto good terms with the real librarian who just happened to be the Raikage's niece, and got a lot of the gossip.

"Of course. Yes, Kumogakure has decided to try another peace alliance with Konohagakure, so they're sending some genins there as a sign of their part that they trust us. We happened to be one of the ones chosen. Have you told Gaara and Temari yet?"

Sakura is about to shake her head when two PUFFS pop into place, revealing Temari and Gaara.

"Sorry we're late. What did we miss?" Temari asks. Sakura jumps on the chance to share the gossip.

"We're going to participating in Konoha's chuunin exams!" She exclaims, catching the two's attention.

"Really? What's the reason?" Temari asks, interested.

"We're trying to build an alliance with Konoha again." Yugito answers. Temari's eyes start to sparkle at the prospect of facing new enemies to beat up. She then seems to realize something and turns toward Sakura.

"Hey, isn't that where you're from, Sakura?"

Sakura nods, a nostalgic smile of her face.

"Yeah…it'll be fun to see all those kids again…" Her smile turns evil. "…And get revenge, of course."

"I'm helping." Gaara says. Sakura flashes a smile at him.

"Of course. I wouldn't dare do anything without you."

Yugito decides that it's time to go.

"You guys brought your bags like I asked you to, right?"

They all nod.

"Okay then, let's go."

* * *

They reach Konoha that night, the first thing they do being going to the hotel, checking in, and going to sleep. The next day is their day to explore. 

Before the three go off, Yugito tells them not to wear their forehead protector. They understand why.

Sakura is the tour guide, as she (tries) guiding them around, and showing all the places that she remembers from her memory.

"…and here's Ichiraku, the best—Ah!"

Sakura, as she wasn't really paying attention to where she was going, runs into someone, causing the other person to fall down.

"Ah! I'm so sorry!" She holds out a hand to the boy, recognizing him to be…to be…Uzumaki Naruto! That's it!! The weird loud-mouthed boy!!

The boy takes her hand and gets up.

"Nah, that's alright! The great Uzumaki Naruto cannot be hurt by a—"

WHACK!

"Shut up, dobe."

Another boy comes from behind. Sakura's smile turns into a smirk as she looks upon this newcomer. Ah yes…her old crush…Uchiha Sasuke. As she looks at him now, she realizes how girly he looks.

"U-Uchiha san…that w-wasn't re-really nice…"

It's then that Sakura notices the fidgeting girl behind Sasuke. She frowns, knowing that she's familiar…but can't really seem to remember.

"Haha!! See, even Hinata-chan agrees with me that you're a stinking bastard!" Naruto then suddenly turns back to Sakura. "By the way, I'm Uzumaki Naruto. These are my teammates, Sasuke-teme, and Hinata-chan."

Sakura smiles at Naruto's enthusiasm.

"I'm Nii Sakura. It's nice to meet you. This is my sister Temari..."

Temari gives a nod in acknowledgment.

"…and Gaara."

Gaara, being his usual shy self, just looks away.

Naruto grins.

"Hehe, nice to meet you all. I've never seen you around here. Are you travelers?"

Sakura nods.

"Yes, we've come to take the Chuunin Exam."

It's here that Sasuke and Hinata look up in interest. Naruto's grin only widens.

"Really?? So are we!! Neat!! We might meet up again—Ah, what is it, Hinata-chan?"

Hinata points towards his watch.

"We-we're late."

Naruto's eyes pop out.

"OH NO!!! I'M GOING TO MISS SOME OF MY TRAINING!!"

He runs off, Sasuke following him, while Hinata bows politely before chasing after them.

"Huh. Interesting kid." Temari looks to Sakura. "Know anything about them?"

"Hmm…Naruto was the unofficial dropout of the class, I remember. And Sasuke was the top rookie. However, I don't remember anything about Hinata."

"Naruto…he's a jinchuuriki."

Sakura and Temari both turn to the sudden comment by Gaara.

"Really? Did Shukaku tell you that?" Sakura asks.

"Yes. He believes it to be the Kyuubi."

"Well, we've got some exciting opponents so far, eh?" Temari says cheerfully.

* * *

Sakura wakes up the next day, unsuprised to see that Temari and Yugito's beds are empty. She stops by a sleeping Gaara and ruffles his hair, smiling at his peaceful expression. It had taken him so long to learn how to sleep, but with Yugito, he eventually got it, and became a pretty heavy sleeper. 

She goes into the kitchen, and sees Temari and Yugito eating breakfast and drinking tea. She stares suspiciously at the food.

"Who made it?" She asks cautiously. Temari glares at her, while Yugito gives an amused grin.

"Sakura, that's very mean of you." She reprimands, making Temari grin childishly. "I thought you knew me better than that. You should know I would never eat Temari's cooking willingly."

"Hehe, that's right—WHAT?!" As Yugito's words sink in, Temari suddenly realizes that she was just insulted. "Hey! My cooking isn't that bad!"

Sakura sits down next to her, and pours herself a cup of tea.

"Of course, Temari. Keep telling yourself that." Sakura grins. "It might actually come true in a million years."

Sakura giggles as she ducks under Temari's whacking hand.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding." Sakura defends herself playfully. Temari sniffs and drinks her tea.

"See if I help you in the exam." She says snobbily.

"Mmm…what happened?" A quiet voice comes out of the corner. "I heart Temari shouting…"

Gaara has awoken.

"Oh, we were just talking about Temari's bad cooking." Sakura answers nonchalantly. Gaara nods and sits down next to Yugito. He stares at the food before looking up at her.

"Temari didn't make this, right?"

"Hey—!"

Ten minutes later, after they had all finished eating and getting ready, the team leaves for the first round of the Chuunin Exam. Yugito gives them a last few parting words.

"…Remember, we're a family. And family stick together."

Silence. She coughs.

"Wow, that was amazingly corny. Congrats." Temari remarks.

"Tell me that you actually had some better advice." Sakura says. Yugito smiles sheepishly.

"Well…it sounded pretty at least."

Sakura sighs, while Temari just shake her head. They part their ways.

* * *

They wait in the corner of the room, refusing to make contact with any of the other genins. 

"Hmmm…We're actually pretty young compared to some people here, aren't we." Temari comments. Sakura smirks.

"Scared?"

Temari scoffs.

"Hell no. I just feel bad since they're going to have their asses kicked by us little youngsters."

"He's here." Gaara suddenly remarks.

"Huh? What are you talking—"

"Sa-ku-ra CHAN!" A voice sings from somewhere. Sakura turns to see a familiar blond-haired kid waving animatedly. She waves back.

"Hey, Naruto!" She runs up to him. "How are you doing?"

"Hehe, I'm pumped! I'm going to—"

BAM!

"Attention! The first exam will begin shortly." Sakura and Naruto turn their attention towards the speaker. They are met with the sight of a grisly looking man, scars running through his face. "I'm your first examiner, Morino Ibiki."

Minutes later, Sakura finds herself seated in the exam room, next to two guys. One is the weirdest ninja she's ever seen, complete with a shiny-bowl haircut and caterpillar eyebrows. The other is none other than Uchiha Sasuke. She looks at both of them.

"Good luck you two!" She says cheerfully. Sasuke has no response and stares at his desk. The other kid smiles a painfully bright smile.

"This is the start…" The examiner, Morino Ibiki, begins to explain the rules. Sakura listens attentively, and almost immediately catches the loophole. She smiles. So this was a spying test.

"BEGIN!"

She flips over her paper, and reads the question, her smirk broadening. Oh, she feels bad for those poor kids who didn't catch the real meaning of the test…She begins to attack the questions.

Within minutes she is finished, and she flips over her paper. She lets out a sigh, and looks around the room, catching sight of very angry green eyes. She quickly sticks out a tongue at Temari before turning back to her paper. Gaara will help Temari eventually.

She waits out the exam, doing any random thing relieve her of her boredom. She spins her pencil, she plays with her hair, doodles on the back of her paper…_anything._

And finally, it comes. The tenth question is about to be announced.

* * *

(A random scene that popped into my head...there's a huge time gap of unwritten events) 

"What is your name?"

It is the white-eyed kid from the Forest of Death. He has an intense look on his face. Sakura looks around, and sees no one else in the vicinity. She points at herself cluelessly.

"Me?"

He nods. She cocks her head to the side.

"Why do you want to know?"

"You are a strong opponent who I look forward to facing."

_Oh gosh, he sounds like an excited Temari…except more monotone…ish…_

"Hmmm, I will tell you my name on one condition."

He raises an eyebrow. Sakura takes a deep breath and dives in.

"Let me examine the seal on your forehead."

His hand immediately goes up to his forehead protector.

"How do you—Nevermind. I refuse."

He's gone. Sakura sighs.

_That didn't go too well…_

* * *

Another random time skip scene)_  
_

"S-sakura? Sakura-chan?"

It's a breathy voice she's all too familiar with. No. She's not familiar with it at all. It's a just a memory.

"Sakura-chan!! I know that's you! Turn around and face me!"

Sakura stops. She refuses to listen. Instead a hand jerks her around.

It's her mother.

"Sakura…" The woman covers her mouth, tears filling up her eyes. Her hand starts to shake unsteadily. "It's really you."

Sakura violently shakes her head.

"No! It isn't. The Sakura you knew doesn't exist. She died when you left her at the orphanage. When you abandoned her!!"

Haruno Narumi doesn't seem to hear. She just repeats over and over, "It's really you…It's really you…"

Her mother takes her hand, and feels it, as if confirming its reality.

"Sakura…Sakura, you've grown up so much…and I missed it…" Her tears flow freely, and the woman moves to give her a hug. Sakura stiffens when she feels wiry arms circle around her. "Sakura…"

She wriggles.

"Let go! I'm not your Sakura!! She's dead!"

"Sakura...I'm so sorry…"

"Shut up!! You don't know what it was like…"

"Forgive me…please…"

"Let go!"

Sakura breaks free and runs away, refusing to look at the broken look of the other woman's face.

No...she runs. She's not going back to the past. She's not looking back.

Somehow, she had ended up in Gaara's arms, soothing circles running their circles in her back.

"Shh…What happened?"

She mumbles and mutters incoherent words as she tries to explain. He understands anyway.

* * *

AN: Hmm...summary? Gaara and Sakura are childhood friends. One day Gaara decides to run away with Sakura, and Temari is dragged along. They end up in Kumogakure and is adopted and trained by Nii Yugito. Only then, one day, they come back to Konohagakure.

What do ya think of it?


	3. Gathering Circles

It's a gathering of a sort. All six of them had gathered at the dango shop, eating solemnly and silently. They are seated at a round table, each seat taken up. A circle.

It had started with Sakura. She, who had decided to quit being a ninja, was going out for a last dinner before she would go to try to lead a normal life. One last time, remembering everything. And then, she promised herself, she would move on. For the first time in seven years, she brought out her katana. It was tonight that she would finally destroy it.

Next is Tenten and Temari. Sakura meets them while they are sparring against each other. She watches with amazement the way they go out all, bringing out every move they have. She knows the look in their eyes, that familiar look that Sasuke would have. They are fighting a distant enemy that they can never win against. And even then, they can fight so smoothly, so gracefully, so beautifully…it is a strength that Sakura wishes she could have had.

She asks them to join her. Three points.

It is at the shop where they meet the other three. It is Anko who invites them to join. The shop is empty except for them.

"So…what are you kiddies doing here? Shouldn't you be at Ichiraku's or something more for younger people?" Anko asks curiously. Sakura looks at the other two girls. They all have their reasons for being here.

"It is…quiet here." Sakura answers vaguely, before turning the question. "What about you Mitarashi-san? What reasons do you have for going to this out of the way place?"

It is Yugao who answers.

"This is the only place near the memorial stone."

Silence. Anko drinks her cup of sake.

"He was a wonderful person, wasn't he..." Tenten says quietly. "Gekko-san was the one who taught me the ways of the sword."

Yuugao and Genma look up in surprise.

"You knew him?" Yugao asks. Sakura watches how her eyes seem to plead, begging Tenten to answer. Is this how Sakura would look when she would talk of Sasuke?

Tenten nods hesitantly.

"He would come to my father's shop for weapons. While he was there, he would stay with me, whether it was to teach the sword or just to talk." Tenten pauses and stops for a brief moment. "He would…often talk of someone he loved. A beautiful swordsman, whom he would call his "moonflower"."

Yugao looks down, her mouth giving way to a bitter smile.

"He would do that, wouldn't he…" She sighs, as if the breath was being pulled out her reluctantly.

Silence reigns again.

"Maa, maa…You guys pick such terrible dinner topics…" Genma remarks. Anko takes this chance.

"RIGHT YOU ARE, Shiratori!!" Anko yells, pointing at him in a dramatic fashion. "And thus, I find it the proper time to introduce—" She holds the last syllable out to an silent drum roll. "A DRINKING GAME!!"

The group stares at her.

"Mitarashi-san…" Sakura wonders whether she should be challenging the crazy examiner, but keeps talking nonetheless. "We're underage."

Anko waves her off.

"No matter, no matter." She looks in turn at the three girls in the eye. "If you don't tell, I won't."

Yugao voices another challenge.

"Anko, last time I got together in a drinking game with you and Yuuhi, we ended up on a trip to all of the countries to see which one had the best dango." She states her opposition. Anko turns to her.

"And it was a fun trip, was it not?" She grins, reminding Sakura of Naruto. "Besides, we're all human. We need to get away from it all sometimes, don't we?"

In the end, she convinced them all, even Temari.

Three hours later, all of them had passed out. All except one.

After paying for the bill with money she takes from Genma's wallet, Anko who knew the owner especially well, takes the dango shop's upstairs apartment and sets everyone in separate cots.

She plans everything out.

* * *

It has all been decided. Tenten will go with Yugao, Temari will go with Genma, and Sakura will go with Anko. Every three months, they will meet up somewhere, depending on their locations, to check their training. At the end of the year, they meet up back at Konoha. 

A set of rules has been established by Anko. No writing letters to anyone in Konoha, and no going inside the village. Also, by the end of this trip, the student must have one: a cool outfit, two; know how to play an instrument, and three; has created a move unique to herself.

They set off at dawn, and go out through Anko's special way to get by the gates. They part as soon as they've traveled a fair few miles away from the village. Sakura watches the other two girls go, painfully aware of the fact that she in alone with the scary examiner.

"SO—" Anko flops down upon the moss of the forest. "Sit down, Pinky. I'll show ya my plan for our journey."

Sakura sits upon the floor alongside the woman, slightly curious, but also slightly dreadful. Anko pulls out a map and spreads it out. She puts her finger down in the Land of Fire.

"We're probably somewhere around here. The first place that we want to go to is…" She drags her finger towards the northwest area of the map. "…Here, the Land of Grass. That's where we'll get our new outfits. From there, we'll go towards the Land of Rice Fields (She drags her finger along the respective paths), where we'll get our instruments. After that, we'll just travel about everywhere until the end of the year. Sound good?"

She stares at Sakura, daring her to say no. Unnerved by the woman's stare, Sakura inches back unconsciously.

"Y-yeah."

Anko stands up.

"GREAT!! Let's go!!"

They travel until night, in which they take a break to set camp, a break which Sakura is greatly thankful for.

She falls back onto the ground, not used to running so long. She takes each gulp of air in greedily. Anko glances upon her with exasperation.

"Man, you're pathetic. What did Hatake do with you? Have you sit around while the other two boys sparred or something?"

Sakura flinches, her remark hitting right on the spot. If Anko noticed this, she didn't show it. Instead, she sits down by the girl and pokes her.

"C'mon, get up! We're gonna have a get to know each other session!"

Did she hear that correctly?

"A…what?" She asks. Anko grins her Naruto-grin, as Sakura has dubbed it.

"A get to know each other session! Like truth or dare, except that there's only truth! Since we're going to be traveling together for a while, we should know more about each other! You know, teamwork and all that stupid cheesy stuff."

Sakura shuddered, dreading what is to come. Maybe she could get out of it…?

"It's okay, I'll pass—"

Anko pulls her up. Maybe not.

"No escape!! C'mon, I'll even let you ask the first question!"

Sakura sighs, and sits up straight, giving up.

"Fine. What is your favorite weapon?"

Anko scoffs.

"Gosh, what a wimpy question. But if you really must know, it's a saw. Or fire, if you count that as a weapon."

Sakura stares at her in horror.

_A saw? FIRE?? She's a blood-lusting pyromaniac!_

Anko seems to take no notice of Sakura's expression.

"Hehe…now, my turn. Hmmm…well, I'll ask an easy one. Do you still like the Uchiha traitor?"

_Easy question?!!!? Talk about uncomfortable…_

"I...don't want to."

Is that a look of approval on Anko's face?

"Next question!"

This is going to be a long night.

* * *

It is morning when she wakes up, for a brief moment, she fools herself into thinking that she is home. But then, consciousness sinks in, and she remembers everything.

_Sakura finds herself in a couch stuffed with four other newly awakened people, facing a grinning Anko. _

"_Okay!!! To begin this meeting, I shall share two conclusions I came to last night." Anko points to the three girls. "YOU three lil' genins are pathetic, especially you, Pinky!" She continues her speech, and starts to put on airs. "And, because it's our duty as senior shinobi to help you little kiddies, we shall take the three of you under our wing and go on a training journey outside the village!!"_

_She ends the speech with a dramatic pose, as if expecting applause at her brilliant plan. _

"_Tch, what makes you think I'm going to agree to this?" Temari scoffs. Anko's grins widens, a dangerous glint appearing in her eye. _

"_Hehe…this is where last night comes into play…" She pulls out a bottle of clear liquid from her pocket. "You see, I was originally planning on just hooking Shi-shi and Yugao into this, so I slipped this special formula that's usually used for interrogation into the sake, which you kiddies happened to unfortunately drink too. The result…"_

_She slips her hand into her pocket, and pulls out a scroll._

"…_Was this. Remember it?"_

_Sakura moves slightly forward to read it._

_I, Anko Mitarashi, claim that I will go on this journey. If I don't, I will claim my love for Hagane Kotetsu before proceeding to French kiss Morino Ibiki._

_I, Sabaku no Temari, state that I will go on this journey. Should I not, I will wear Kankurou's make-up and give Gaara a hug. _

_I, Kudari Tenten, swear that I will go on this journey. If I don't, I will cut my hair so it's like Lee's and will wear Gai-sensei's green jumpsuit for the rest of my life. _

_I, Shiranui Genma, swear to go on this journey. Should I not, I will pull down Kakashi's mask and shave off all of his hair._

_I, Uzuki Yugao, claim that I will go on this journey. If I fail to complete this, I will cut off my long hair to look like Kakashi-senpai's hair. _

_I, Haruno Sakura, promise to go on this journey. If I don't, I will ask Hyuuga Neji on a date. _

_Signed,_

_Mitarashi Anko_

_Sabaku no Temari_

_Kudari Tenten_

_Shiranui Genma_

_Uzuki Yugao_

_Haruno Sakura_

_---_

"_Hey, Sakura, be careful. Mitarashi-san seems kind of…crazy." Tenten warns. Yes, Sakura definitely did not notice that at all._

"_Tenten, don't worry. I'll be fine…"_

"_Oi!! Pinky!! Stop taking so long!!" Anko yells. Sakura sighs before turning back to the two._

"_I have to go. Tenten, Temari-san, have fun with your teachers." _

_They part, but then Temari puts a hand on Sakura's shoulder._

"_Hey, try to get that scroll." She tells her in a low whisper. _

Sakura's eyes flash open. The scroll! Perhaps Anko wasn't awake yet.

She gets out of bed quietly, careful not to creak any boards, and goes out into the hallway. No sign of Anko.

Then—

_KAAUGHHH!!!_ Comes Anko's snoring from the other closed door. Sakura smiles, and slowly creaks the door open. It moves to reveal a sleeping Anko and—Sakura smirks—a scroll lying by the bed.

She takes her time with each step, her heart pounding louder at everyone.

Halfway there…Closer and closer…Almost…

Her hand grasps the scroll and she grins victoriously.

_Haha!! Take that you evil—_

"CAUGHT!!"

Sakura flips around to see Anko looking in disgust. She turns back around, just in time to see the snoring Anko disappear with a _PUFFFFF!_

_A clone, duh!! How I could not see through that?_

"Tsk tsk, we really need to work on your stealth skills. That was just the most pitiful performance I have ever seen!!" Anko sighs, before pushing a sandwich onto Sakura's hand. "Here's your breakfast. C'mon, we got a long day ahead of us."

Ten minutes later, Sakura finds herself…shopping?

"Obaa-san, good morning!" Anko cheers to the old woman behind the counter as she enters the shop.

"Anko-chan, it's been a while." The lady responds as she bows respectively.

Sakura, during these greetings, is too busy to listen as she stares at the store. All she can see is blurs of colors, color, and _colours. _

_Ino would love this store…_

She's in a clothing store.

WHAP!!

A hand clamps onto Sakura's shoulder, making her jump.

"SO—" Anko appears in Sakura's vision. "I know you're practically jumping to go try stuff on so I'll give you the plan now. You're only allowed three outfits. One must be a kimono, another must be a traveling outfit, and the third must be a fighting outfit that you can put under your traveling outfit. Also, PINK IS ABSOLULTELY FORBIDDEN."

Anko then pushes Sakura towards the lines of clothes.

"Remember, there are no limits to what you can choose. Go!"

Which is how Sakura finds herself trying kimonos. She remembers how she used to go shopping with Ino. As Ino was the one with the better fashion sense, she would often end up choosing a majority of the clothes that Sakura would get. But now, she didn't much of a person to guide her, save for a crazy examiner who didn't really count in her opinion.

It's an odd feeling, knowing that you're alone, Sakura decides. Or at least in a place where there are no people to judge you. She feels…free? Light? Bubbly?

As she glances through the racks, she grabs a few kimonos and takes them with her to the mirror. It is there that she puts each one against her skin and observes the look.

Dark forest green. She had chosen it because it reminded her of her eye color. But in the end, the green contrasted for too much with her light skin tone and made her look like an asparagus.

Heart red. It had the exact same color of the dress she was wearing. But even before she had put it to her skin, she knew that she wouldn't like it. She wanted something different. She didn't want to be the same Sakura.

Saffron. She had merely chosen it on whim, as it had stuck out if the crowd. But then as she held it up and looked at it again, a definite NO resounded in her mind. She refused to look like one of Ino's daffodils.

Cobalt night. It had reminded her of Sasuke. She found that the way the color looked on her was decent enough, except she was hesitant. She was afraid that she was only choosing this because of Sasuke, and she didn't want a stupid illusion of him to impair her judgment. She put it aside.

Snow white. She loved the way snow looked when it fell so softly and quietly, putting a clean white sheet of nothingness on everything. And now as she puts it on her skin, she feels a sort of a pull towards it. She wants it. It's beautiful on her and she will have it.

She puts the rest of the kimonos away and brings the white kimono up to the counter. Next is her fighting outfit.

She ends up in the area that Anko is also searching around in.

"Hmmm, Pinky, what do you think? I can't choose between these two outfits." Anko asks as she stares herself in the mirror, alternating between the two. One is a black and teal kimono-styled dress, with purple dots adorning its cloth. The other is a navy _qipao _styled shirt with black pants. Sakura looks at the two.

"That one." She decides, pointing to the kimono-styled dress. "It's more practical and it looks more comfortable."

"Hmmm…?" Anko takes Sakura's words in and looks over the two. "I suppose you're right, now that I think about it! Obaa-san, I'm taking this dress!!"

She runs to the counter, thus leaving Sakura to her own devices. As opposed to the kimonos, which were hanging neatly on the racks, these clothes are piled on top of each other in little messes and heaps. She starts to dig through.

Minutes later, she finds herself having gone through nearly everything without much luck. She decides that she will look through everything once again, and if she doesn't find anything, she'll just choose that black _gi_ that she had set aside. So starts her search again. However, this time, she pulls out every color she finds and looks at each piece carefully.

Which was how she found it, at the very bottom of the pile. It's a quite curious piece, she decides. The cloth feels very nice and comfortable, the navy purple color of it also interestingly pretty. She decides to try it on.

It's only when she looks herself in the mirror does she realize it's an ANBU outfit. Anko also notices this fact.

"Oi, Pinky, where did you get this?" She asks as her eyebrows furrow into hard lines.

Sakura points to the section where was at.

"At the very bottom of one of those piles." She answers. Anko nods, and her hard look disappears, replaced with a smirk.

"Hehe…is Pinky an ANBU wannabe? If you want that outfit I can give you the tattoo that goes along with it." Anko teases. "But it actually does look kind of good on you, surprisingly enough."

Anko goes off to go to the counter to talk to the lady. Sakura looks at herself in the mirror and realizes that Anko is right. She actually does look good. Mature, elegant, but dangerous. She likes it.

She takes it to the counter, and then goes off in search of a traveling outfit.

Walking around, she glances through the racks. Traveling outfit, traveling outfit…so many things could be used as a traveling outfit. In the end, she decides that she'll just use a cloak as a traveling outfit. Practical, convenient, and not too hot.

But then she walks into the aisle in which all the cloaks are hanging, and almost changes her mind.

Did all of them have to be just so…_boring? _So plain and regular and dull?

She looks around in hope that maybe something pretty will pop out.

"Ah-hah…Pinky seems to be having trouble choosing from all of the beautiful cloaks…" Anko pops up out of nowhere, a grin on her face. "Need some help?"

"Sure…"

_Yes, let's see if the crazy examiner can do anything with these._

"Hmm…so, whatcha having trouble with?" Anko questions.

"The cloaks are rather bland." Sakura replies honestly. Anko nods, a thoughtful look appearing on her face.

5 seconds.

10 seconds.

20 se—

"I GOT IT!!"

Sakura jumps from the sudden movement made by the former Anko statue. Anko runs over to the racks, and picks two black coats. She runs back and throws them upon the floor.

"Obaa-san!! We're going to need some supplies!!! Could you get us some paint, scissors, sewing tools, and any random pieces of cloth you have?" Anko calls over. The woman nods and starts to walk to another room as Anko starts to observe the cloaks with intense scrutiny.

"Mitarashi-san…?" Sakura hesitantly questions.

"I already told you, it's Anko…" She replies absentmindedly, and shakes out of her reverie. "What is it?"

"What are you doing?"

"Tch, isn't it obvious? And they say you're the most intelligent girl of your class…" Anko shakes her head. "We're going to decorate them!!"

_Decorate…?_

By now, the lady has come back with the supplies. Anko murmurs a "Thank you" before eagerly grabbing for the scissors and start to cut at the sleeves.

_I might as well…But what should I do?_

Sakura stares at the back of the cloak, as if waiting for inspiration. And oddly enough, it comes. She takes a piece of fog blue cloth and starts to cut it up.

Before she knows it, ten minutes has passed and she still is working. Anko, on the other hand, is showing off her finished work.

"Hehe…Pinky, isn't it beautiful?" Anko proclaims, posing in front of Sakura. She looks up and stops.

Anko's coat sleeves are slashed and torn, along with the bottom lining. A red scarf is wrapped around her arm, the ends of it also shredded. Scads of red dots splatter across the cloth to create the illusion of blood. On the back in large red strokes is the character for blood.

"Un…pretty…" Sakura manages to agree in her dumbfounded state. Meanwhile, Inner Sakura is stuttering and pointing angrily, _YOU LOOK LIKE A FRIGGIN' GANG MEMBER!! What kind of traveling outfit is that??! We're probably going to be mobbed just because of that!!_

Anko grins, as if not noticing Sakura's state and curiously looks over Sakura's work.

"Hmmm….? You're quite the artist aren't you?"

Sakura self-conciously covers her work.

"Don't look! It's not done yet."

Twenty minutes later, Sakura has finished. She holds up her coat, and looks at if in satisfaction.

A moon is sewn onto the upper right corner of the back, misty tendrils covering its shining body. Painted silver clouds adorn the background with their shadows, words painted upon their form.

"I can only see/the iris in reflection/where are you going?" Anko murmurs to herself as she reads from behind's Sakura shoulder. "Huh…that's a pretty nonsensical poem."

"It's _profound_, not nonsensical. You're just not deep enough to understand it." Sakura shoots back. Anko waves her off.

"Whatever, whatever…you done, right?" Sakura nods. "Change into your kimono. I want to see how you look in it. "

Sakura gets her kimono and changes into it, taking only a few minutes as she had put on kimonos several times before. As soon as she comes out, Anko madly dashes for the changing room and grabs her old outfit. Sakura can only in horror as Anko places an exploding tag onto them before throwing it up into the air, leaving it to explode.

"M-my dress…" Sakura stares as its ashes float down. She flashes a glare at Anko, who is grinning triumphantly. "What was that for?"

"It's the first step to become a good kunoichi." Anko states. "Becoming a kunoichi requires for you to change yourself into someone you want to be. Even the simplest of things, like a change of clothes, can change a girl. So, in order to complete this first transformation, we must cast off any remnants of our old selves before we can change. It is impossible to move towards the future while staring at the past."

Anko holds up another pile of ashes. It is now that Sakura notices the black kimono that Anko is wearing.

"Look, I burnt my own clothes too, so we're both going through the same things, okay?"

_Wow, that actually sounded…smart?_

"So, let's go already!! C'mon!!"

After paying the lady for the purchases, Anko walks happily through the village, Sakura following close behind.

"Where are we going next?" Sakura asks curiously. Anko doesn't answer, and instead walks a bit more before suddenly stopping.

"Here." She points to the sign next to her. Sakura moves to look it.

"Hana's…Beauty Salon?" Sakura reads.

"Yup! It's one of the best salons I've been to! C'mon!!" Anko eagerly drags Sakura inside. She is met with a cold, air-conditioned room.

"Welcome to Hana's Beauty Salon." The receptionist bows. "Do you have an appointment?"

"Nope!" Anko smiles cheerfully. "However, can you tell Hana that Anko is here to see her, and has brought a friend."

"Ah…hold on for a moment." The receptionist picks up the receiver and dials the number on the phone. "… … Ah! Hana, there's a woman here to see you…She says her name is Anko...Oh! And she has also brought a friend… … Right, right. Okay. Of course."

She hangs up.

"Go on ahead. Hana's waiting."

Anko grins.

"Thank you."

Sakura and Anko walk ahead into the next room. Once again, Anko finds an old companion. This time however, as opposed to being an old woman, this girl is quite young, looking about twenty. Her face is schooled into a gentle and happy expression.

"Anko-san, it's been a while. You surprisingly came at a convenient time, when it's not busy."

Anko goes up to give the lady a hug.

"Hana!! How have you been? Here here, meet my student, Pinky. Pinky, come over here!"

Sakura walks up, and bows.

"It's nice to meet you Hana-san. Please, call me Sakura."

Hana gives an amused smile.

"Of course, Sakura-san." Hana turns to Anko. "When did you get a student?"

"Just yersterday. Hana, can you give Pinky a haircut?" Anko asks. Hana looks over Sakura, observing her features.

"Hmmm…depends. What are you planning for her?"

"Well, I was thinking about first growing her hair longer and then giving it some layers…"

Before Sakura knows it, she is in a chair with a towel wrapped around her neck, staring at her reflection in the mirror in front of her. Hana and Anko stand beside her.

"Sakura-san, I'm first going to grow your hair out. Don't worry, as I can always restore your hair back to its original state." Hana says calmly. She then takes Sakura's hair into her hands, and closes her eyes. Her hands start to glow with green chakra. "In'yu Shometsu!"

Sakura watches with amazement as her hair starts to grow longer until it reaches the bottom of her back.

"How did you do that?" She asks with awe.

"I was once a medic-nin, so I know how to regenerate dead cells." Hana explains, and picks up a pair of scissors. "I'm going to layer your hair a bit. Tell me if you don't like it, okay?"

* * *

AN: Summary - Anko blackmails some people to go on training trips. Sakura unfortunately ends up with her.

This is probably the...fifth time I've re-edited it and still don't like it. But I kinda have everything planned out...I'm just...too lazy to write it?


	4. Home

Tsunade reads the paper with rare sober eyes.

"Hmmmm..." She puts the paper down as she finishes. "Shizune!"

A flurry of footsteps are heard and BAM--Shizune appears in the place of the slammed-open door.

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" She cries dutifully.

Tsunade holds up the letter. Shizune's eyes widen as she reconizes the symbol of Kumogakure.

"What..." She takes the letter from Tsunade's hands and reads it quickly. "What does this mean?"

Tsunade rests her head upon her hands.

"Probably what it says. Kumogakure is sending one team to the Chuunin Exams, and since the team is missing one member, we need to supply one for them." Tsunade takes a sip from her sake. "If you're asking why...I don't know."

Shizune looks at the paper and back to Tsunade.

"What do you propose we do then?"

Tsunade closes her eyes briefly in thought. Seconds later, they are open and alert.

"We'll give them one of our younger looking jounins to act like a genin, to see if we can find out Kumogakure's motives behind this."

Shizune's eyebrows furrow.

"Which jounin?"

Tsunade smirks.

* * *

Three women stand outside the gates of Konohagakure. 

"Hehe...We're finally back. Think they'll see through our disguise?"

"If you keep talking like that. Just make sure not to lust over Iruka-sensei too much."

"Shut up, _panda_."

"Gr..."

The third girl steps in.

"Now's not the time to fight you two. Let's review the plan. Tenten, you first."

"Sorry, Sakura. Didn't mean to get carried away like. Okay, I'm Haruka Chi, I'm 17 years old, and I'm a genin taking the Chuunin Exam. Iruka-lover, you next."

"You're lucky you're weak panda, otherwise you'd be dead already." She ignores the other girl's bristling. "I'm the awesome and beautiful jounin Akiko Shoko who is your teacher. Wow, everything is true but the name. Pinky-who-is-not-pinky-anymore, go."

The girl twitches.

"...I'm Tsukiko Akane, a genin participatin in the Chuunin Exam from Kumogakure."

"We're done reviewing. _Now, _can we go?"

"No, Anko--"

The older woman cuts in.

"Shoko_-sama._"

"Shoko-_sensei_, you're going to have to stop the nicknames if you want to pull this off."

She pouts.

"Fine. From now on, Panda shall be Weakling, and Pinky-who-is-not-pinky-anymore is Blacky. Happy?"

"I'm not weak, you Iru--ahem, dolphin-lover!"

The youngest of the three twitches.

"Immature...Hmph. Just like Naruto and Sasuke. Sheesh."

Minutes later they enter the village, Sakura finally being able to stop the two from arguing.

"Hehe...Time to pull the greatest prank of all ages on Konohagakure!!"

* * *

"OY!! WAKE UP YOU LITTLE GIRLS!!" 

Sakura and Tenten jump up, weapons in hand. Then they notice Anko.

"Oh. It's you." Tenten says, her eyes dead. She flops back onto her bed, Sakura following her.

Anko look at the two of them with a pout, before smirking.

"Oh look" She sings. "Is that Shikamaru and Neji?"

The two girls pop up and immediately start looking around crazily.

"WHAT!! WHERE!?"

Their eyes land on a laughing Anko.

"Shoko-sensei..." Sakura forces out through grinding teeth.

"I'm going to kill you..." Tenten growls. "...Slowly and painfully..."

"Oh by all means, please do try." Anko says cheerfully. "However, make sure you do it two minutes so we can get to the meeting with the Hokage on time."

The two girls blink.

"Oh snap!!"

They somehow make it on time, with Sakura and Tenten running in a frenzy while changing clothes and combing their hair while Anko just watches in amusement. Minutes later, they are in front of the door leading to Tsunade's office. Anko slams it open.

"ARRIVING!!!" She yells brightly, as Tenten and Sakura follow her into the room, sweat pouring off them.

"We made it..." Sakura wheezes.

"Take that you evil old hag..." Tenten breaths out.

And they flop down on the floor.

"Excuse me?"

They look up to see Tsunade staring at them, her eyes blinking owlishly. Tenten scrambles to bow.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!! I wasn't talking about you at all!! I was talking about the evil mean annoying dolphin-loving teacher that I have over there!!" She says, pointing a glare towards a smirking Anko. "I mean no disrespect at all, Hokage-sama!"

A deep voice cuts off Tenten's babblings.

"Are these...my new teammates?"

Everyone turns to look at the other person in the room that they hadn't noticed before. Sakura's face, in particular, becomes more cold as she struggles to control her bubbling emotions.

"Ah yes, I almost forgot about you." Tsunade says. She turns towards the group of girls and points towards the boy. "Here's the replacement member you requested. His name is Hyuuga Neji. Hyuuga, meet your new teammates."

"Huuuhhh...we got a Hyuuga..." Anko says, reconizing the prodigy boy. "I guess we aren't that trusted, are we?"

Tsunade's face remain emotionless. However, Anko's grin seems to widen, and she sticks her hand out.

"Well then!! I'm your new teacher, the gorgeous Akiko Shoko. But please call me Shoko-sama." She says. Neji stares at her for a brief moment, before shaking her hand quickly. She starts to introduce the other two.

"That weakling over there with the bun/ponytail thingy is Haruka Chi, but feel free to call her Weakling."

Tenten clenches her hand into a fist, but decides not to say anything.

"Aaaaand Blacky is Tsukiko Akane. She doesn't like cute guys, so she might act weirdly around you."

Sakura's eyes narrow at her description, but knows that Anko's words will ring true. Out of all the people to be paired up with, what were the chances it would be the guy she had a crush on? Now as long as she doesn't embarrass herself in front of him...

"So, Hokage-sama, if you'll excuse us," Anko says, as she turns to the Hokage. "We'd like to get to know our resident Pretty Boy here."

And so, Neji's nickname is born.

Tsunade nods.

"You are excused."

The four leave, Tsunade staring after them. She turns towards the seemingly empty air next to her.

"What do you think?"

Kakashi and Kurenai appear as Kurenai release her genjustu.

"They are not what I expected." Kurenai says, carefully choosing her words. "They appear to be comfortable with their position."

"The teacher is dangerous. She had noticed Kurenai's illusion, but had pretended not to. We should keep careful watch on her." Kakashi adds.

Tsunade takes their words in carefully.

* * *

Meanwhile, the three girls search for a restaurant to eat at while dragging Neji around. 

"MAaann, where is the dango place in this village?" Anko complains. "A village cannot be a village without dango!! Don't you know anything Pretty Boy?"

"No." Is his one word answer. He seems to be a slight bit annoyed at his nickname, though he doesn't show it. Anko glares at him.

FWISH!!

Anko pins Neji to the floor, his hair in her hands.

"You will tell me where the dango place is or your hair is getting chopped off." She whispers dangerously is his eye, twirling a kunai playfully. Neji is emotionless.

"I do not know."

Anko narrows her eyes, and puts her kunai against his hair, about to push down. However, Sakura stops her.

"Wait!"

Neji glances at the black-haired girl. Will she save him from the crazy teacher?

"You should layer his hair."

Or not.

Tenten chimes in.

"Give him bangs too."

The girls fuss with his hair, deciding what to do, when suddenly he sees it.

"Wait."

"Hmm...did Pretty Boy suddenly remember?" Anko says evilly.

"Look by the streetlamp." He says. They follor his gaze.

"Could it be..." Tenten's eyes start to sparkle.

"...A dango shop?" Anko finishes Tenten's sentence.

"FOOD!!" The two cry in unison as they race towards the stall. Sakura follows behind calmly, before turning to the freed boy.

"Coming?"

Neji gets up and grudgingly follows, though his mind is warning him not.

And he's right. Ten minutes later, after Anko, Sakura, and Tenten have their share of dango, he is forced to pay.

"Hehe...be a man for once!! You know, all that chivalry crap about how the man pays at a date!!" Anko uses her amazing logic and persuasion.

"In truth, we're actually really poor since we used all of our money for the trip to Konoha." Tenten smiles sheepishly. She puts on her sweet but shy flirting face. "Won't you pay for us this once?"

Sakura says nothing, looking away.

Neji glares at them, before taking out his wallet. Anko and Tenten jump up triumphantly, doing a little victory dance. He just can't win against women.

* * *

Neji reports to the Hokage's office. 

"So, what did you find out?" She asks.

"They like dango."

She stares at him. He continues.

"Shoko-sensei appears to like dolphins."

Silence.

"That's it?" She asks.

"Yes."

"When's the next time you meet them?"

"Tomorrow at 6:00 at the Konoha inn to guide them to the training grounds."

Silence.

"You are dismissed."

* * *

Neji gets to the entrance at 5:45. There's no one there, except for Kakashi who is hidden among the trees. 

He waits.

5:50. No one.

5:55. Nothing.

And then a distants yells are heard.

"Wake up little girl!! Akane's already up."

"Shut up old hag!! I still got four minutes to sleep!!"

5:57.

"YOO!! WEAKLING!! GO!! WE'RE LATE!!"

"What are you talking about...oh snap!! 6:10!!"

5:59.

Footsteps are heard rushing down the steps.

6:00.

The three open the door on the dot.

"I'm sorry, Neji-san!! I didn't mean to..." Tenten's voice dies, as she catches sight of the clock on the wall. She turns to Anko, her face darkening by the second.

"I...am going to _kill _you..."

"Go ahead and try, Weakling."

The two charge at each other. However, just as the two are about to fight, Sakura forms some seals in her hands.

"Kanashibari no Jutsu."

Suddenly, Anko and Tenten are frozen in fighting stances, both of them glaring at her.

"You both are going to behave. Otherwise, I'll get the Scroll." Sakura says cheerfully with a threatening lilt in her voice. "Got it?"

She releases the jutsu.

"Akane-chan, you used to be so sweet and shy..." Anko whines as she gets up. "Fine then, let's go. Pretty Boy, lead the way."

They walk a few steps, before Sakura suddenly flips out a kunai towards a tree.

"Someone's following us." She says. Tenten nods, as she reaches for the wrapped up bundle on her back. Anko has a prideful smile on her face, proud of Sakura's progress at detecting.

"Don't worry. It's just someone from the Hokage sent to spy on us to make sure we don't have some hidden motive. If it was an enemy, Pretty Boy would have noticed long ago." Anko says. "Come out!! It's nice to have company!!"

Nothing.

"Don't make me come get you!" Anko sings.

Then--

CLANG!!

Anko is holding a kunai against another, facing her opponent.

"Why, I believe I've heard of you," Anko chirps. "Hatake Kakashi, right?"

Kakashi pulls back.

"You're pretty good, Akiko-san."

Anko grins.

"Why thank you." She turns to Sakura and Tenten. "Kiddies, this is our stalker, also known as Hatake Kakashi."

"Nice to meet you, Hatake-san." Tenten says cheerfully, as she bows. "Are you going to train with us? It'd be pretty fun to train against a Sharingan user."

"I agree. Please do train with us, Hatake-san." Sakura says. To see her sensei after all this while...it felt odd how he didn't even seem to reconize her. Had she changed that much?

Kakashi shrugs.

"Might as well."

They start to walk to the training grounds, Neji and Kakashi leading the way.

"So, what element are you most compatible with, Hatake-san?" Anko asks, conversationally.

"I'd prefer not to say." He says lightly.

"Ah...well, are you at least somewhat good with lightning? Akane's mostly lightning so it's hard to train her since I know nothing about it. Which is kinda weird, isn't it, as I'm from the village that specializes in lightning attacks. But people there are more concerned with just training either themselves or their own teams and don't have the time to train others...hmph, selfish bastards. By the way, Pretty Boy, what's your main element?"

"Water." Is his one-word answer. Anko frowns.

"Oh...so is Weakling...that's not good balance..."

Anko continues to talk consistantly, as they walk. Finally, as they get to the training grounds, she finally stops right next to a lake.

"Okay, time to start warming up!!" She cheers. "Go go!! 100 laps on the pond!! Last one to finish pays for dinner!!"

Sakura and Tenten stare at each other, both clearly saying something.

_There is no way I 'm paying._

They dash for the pond, fire burning in their eyes, and start to run back and forth on the pond. Anko slaps Neji and Kakashi on the head.

"Oi. You're included too."

So starts the race between the five.

Minutes later, it is Kakashi who finishes last. Anko stares at him.

"You're pitiful." She comments, before turning back to her team. "Now that you're warmed up, it's time to really start!! Here's the plan. Kakashi and Neji will hold a scroll, while Chi and Akane will hold another scroll. The objective; get the other teams scroll."

* * *

AN: Remember Chapter Three? This is one of the earlier attempts at it...I thought it would be nice to post up. 


	5. Summer Matsuri

She blinks, and before she knows it, it has happened. Like a gust of wind, it blows her over. Like the speed of light, everything is a blur. Like a cheap movie, it happens all too slowly.

Blood. Crimson blood. Blood on her hands, on her face, on her teeth. It's all too bitter. And for one of the few times in her life, she hates the taste.

Tears and blood don't mix well.

"Anko…" Kurenai breathes out. "It's…It's going to be alright…"

Anko can barely feel the life in the statement. She knows it's a lie. To be completely true, it must be completely dead. And that hasn't happened yet.

"Shut up." She grits out. "You can't die yet. You can't!"

She roughs the tears out of her eyes, as her throat closes up.

"Think…think of Sarutobi! Th-think of Hatake and Maito! Think of ME!" And when Anko says this, it's like a thousand pounds falling onto her shoulders. A hollow hole is inside her, only getting bigger. She's going to be lonely. "…Oh g-god…I…"

Kurenai weakly rests a slightly trembling hand upon Anko's head, softly combing and smoothing her hair. She makes a soft soothing noise, though her voice is unsteady and weak.

"Shh…let—" She coughs a bit. "Let me give you something…"

Anko doesn't hear her. She has grabbed Kurenai's hand and is holding onto it, as if it was a lifeline.

"…Don't leave me…" She cries out thickly.

Kurenai only continues patting Anko's head, as awkward and slow as her hand may be.

"Shh…I'm not going to die yet…"

And with a sudden force, Anko feels a hand pushing into a pressure point in her neck.

"Kure…What?"

Her eyes start to close, her eyes fighting to stay open. But she's losing against the darkness overtaking her.

The last thing she hears is a voice. No, not even. It's a whisper, an echo of the end.

"Promise me you'll take care of her…"

* * *

Kurenai closes her eyes, pushing the guilt in her stomach back down. She has to do this. For Anko…and for Sakura. 

Using all of the chakra she has left, she channels it into her hands. Then, she takes out a senbon and begins her work.

Ten minutes later, she is lying upon the ground, energy completely spent. A bloody senbon lies beside her, the sharp point poking into her arm probably being the only thing keeping her awake. Her arm is completely burned up in pain from being overworked.

She grimaces, but picks out her arm again for one last thing. What does it matter if she kills her arm? She's going to die.

Her fingers dip in her blood and start to draw.

* * *

Stained glass, she decides. Yes, that's it. She feels like stained glass. Broken stained glass, that is. 

Only minutes ago had she woken up seeing the setting sun. Only minutes ago, she found a broken smily face, drawn in blood. Only minutes ago, she found that Yuuhi Kurenai was dead.

She trudges among the landscape, senseless. She doesn't feel the weight of the body she's carrying. She doesn't see the trees and swamps she passes. She doesn't hear the happy chirpings that one usually hears from the birds of the Land of Fire. She doesn't think about anything, save for the color red. The red of the evening sky, the red of Kurenai's eyes, the red of blood. Her body moves mechanically, like a robot.

Before she knows it, she's looking at a spring. Her hands move automatically to the water and grab a puddle to splash in her face. Is it cold or hot? She doesn't know.

Crimson. The crimson is staring at her, looking at her in the eye. Her eyes are crimson.

And suddenly—

She wakes from the dream. And stares.

Her eyes are crimson.

Her eyes are crimson.

Her eyes…are _crimson._

Sharingan crimson.

* * *

She stares at the characters on the open doors. A-N. Retreat. Hermitage. 

And that, it was certainly most not. She dreaded returning.

It had been twenty minutes since she realized she had the Sharingan. Nineteen minutes since she tried to cancel out the justu. Eighteen minutes since tried slashing herself with a kunai to wake herself from her nightmare. Fifteen minutes since she gave up trying to figure it out, and just put a genjutsu on her eyes.

"Mitarashi-san! Back so—"

Kotetsu stops talking. He has noticed the body she carries.

It's Izumo who goes up to her, and takes the body from her.

"We'll tell the Hokage what has happened. What's your report?"

Anko answers in a tired voice.

"Mission was a success. One casualty. Died by enemy hand."

And she promptly drops the body before spiriting off.

* * *

She expected the letter she received the next morning, along with the flowers. It's from the Hokage. 

_Anko, _

_Don't come until you're ready. I have given you a month of vacation. The attached letter was found at Kurenai's house. It has not been read. Her funeral is in two weeks, on the 17th. Please come. _

_With sympathy and regret,_

_Sandaime_

Putting the flowers aside, she takes the attached letter and glances over it. It looks as if it was completely crumbled into a paper ball before being straightened out again. On the front, is her name written in Kurenai's familiar loopy but neat handwriting. Beside her name is the words, _Please read._

She throws it aside.

* * *

Three days since she almost threw the letter away. Two days since she received continuous letters and gifts from people. One day since the genjutsu on her eyes wore off. 

After another long look in the mirror, she picks up the letter again and opens it.

_Anko,_

_I've been wanting to tell you for a long time but…please forgive me. I guess I'm still quite scared and insecure about this part of myself, though we've known each other for years. Heh. I'm so scared that I can't even bear to tell you face to face. There's no easy way to say this. My real name is Uchiha Kuroneko._

_Imagine the long-lost second cousin that Itachi missed because she was disowned, and thus unknown to him. Hard to believe but…that's me. __That does sound kind of cliché doesn't it.__ When the Hokage learned of that, he sealed my Sharingan abilites the way the Hyuuga curse seal seals away Byakugan abilites, except for the fact that my Sharingan (should they ever awaken) could be released in times of near death. After that day, I had become Yuuhi Kurenai, a trasnfer from the Root division. _

_Also, onto other news that I've been too scared to tell you…I'm a parent._

_Just kidding. If only I could see the look on your face._

_I'm actually going to adopt a child. Last spring, one of the nurses at the Hospital had told me of a child needing a blood donor. I volunteered for the job, and it turned out my blood was completely compatible. I met her soon afterwards, and I couldn't help it. She was too cute to resist. You'll get to meet her soon. In fact, I've signed you as legal guardian, in case something happens to me (Yes, I forged your signature). Her name was Haruno Sakura, but I guess now it's Yuuhi Sakura (or even Uchiha Sakura if you want to be technical). She's six, and is currently training to be a shinobi. _

_And other than that, I don't think I have anything else to freak you out with. It's odd how this kind of sounds like a diary entry. Maybe I should get one._

_I hope I can give this letter to you._

_Your best friend,_

_Yuuhi Kurenai _

Too many words since Anko started crying.

* * *

AN: Summary - Anko somehow ends up with the Sharingan and an extra child to take care of. 

Hmm...I tend to change my writing style way too much. It's hard to keep constant. About the part where Anko is describing the gate, she's talking about the two hiragana characters "a" and "n", which according to wikipedia mean retreat and hermitage. And also, I realize that I change the tense too often. It's a bad problem my English teacher complains about too much.

And yeah, I realize that the timeline is messed up, as Itachi killed the clan when Sakura was seven, but let's just forget that for a bit.

For some reason, I find this kind of...one-shot-ish. Tell me what you think of the style. Also, just a note: I've got a special something already written for the next installment of Sketchbook. If I get a review, I might post it up sooner than I originally planned...-hint-hint-


	6. Black Cat cont

AN: Remember Chapter One? If you don't, re-read it. Anyway, I hope you like this!

* * *

8:42. 

She walks, the Forest of Death is in her sight, the flashing warnings already readable. No one appears to be there yet.

CLANG!

Sakura's kunai clash with another loudly and immediately she does an upward kick towards her opponent. The person dodges as Sakura flips backwards. Only when she lands does she see the person's identity.

"Anko-sensei?"

The named person gives a grin.

"Hmm...you're pretty good. Hey, be a good girl and don't warn the guys as to what I'm going to do, okay? You can even join in, if you want."

Sakura has already taken out her book, and is sitting down.

"I'll pass."

The minutes fly and Sasuke is seen coming. Sakura puts her book down, curious as to how Sasuke reacts. Of course, as expected of the top rookie, he effectively dodges Anko's attack, though he is a bit slow. The same goes for Sai, who comes only minutes later.

"Great, you guys are all good at sensing enemy presences. Then I won't have to work on that. So, as the introduction yesterday was kind of usesless, today's going to be the actual day when I find out what you kids can do!"

Anko forms some seals, before--POOF--three Anko clones stand before them.

"I'll be sparring with all of you today, so show me what you can do!" The one in middle says.

"Of course, you'll have a slight advantage, as you'll be fighting clones." The one on the right continues.

"However, don't underestimate me, got it? Now, let's pair off!"

* * *

(Random time skip) 

"So, why are we here?"

"To celebrate the new rookie teams!"

They are in front of a restaurant.

"However, not all of the teams will not be here." Here, Anko adopts an innocent expression. "You see, I kinda forget to mention something yesterday."

Sakura has a feeling that this probably what she's about to hear isn't good.

"The thing is, the test that genin were given at the Academy was really only a preliminary to the real test. This test is the one that really makes or break it. If you fail, you will get sent back to the academy. Many teams have failed already."_  
_

_Just tell us arleady what the test is._

"I have given two other people at this party a pure golden ring. Your objective is to get one of the rings." Anko's grin widens. "Whoever doesn't get a ring, will fail and be sent back to the academy. Also, If I find your performance pitiful, you will fail. You have until the end of the party to get a ring. Ready?"

Without waiting for a response, she opens the door.

"Your mission starts now."

Sakura enters first, and is met with an odd sight that reminds her of lunch breaks in the Academy. Everyone is divided into their own little groups. The jounin teachers have a table to themselves, which Anko immediately joins. Nearly all the girls, are off talking in another table. Then, in random corners and spots, are the rest of the boys.

She finds one of these corners and takes out a book out of the pouch on her belt. Pretending to read, she secretly observes her surroundings, listening to the conversations.

"So, Hatake, you finally passed a team, eh? And look, it turned out to be an all female team!!"

"…They're interesting. Especially Shoyu."

"Considering her background, I'd be surprised if she wasn't."

"What about you Anko? Those boys must be a pretty interesting combination."

"Those two? Keh, they're decent enough. Oh no, it's Sakura who's interesting…"

"I've heard of her. Ami, though she doesn't want to admit it, secretly admires her."

"…Haruno? Wasn't she the one who used to get picked on all the time when she was young?"

She tunes out their conversation, and looks at Sasuke and Sai. Sai is merely looking around and drawing, while Sasuke just sits in a secluded corner as he twirls a kunai is his hand. Sakura goes back to listening to conversations.

"…Oh my god, look at Sasuke-kun! Kya!"

She starts to tune out that conversation too, when she hears—

"Huh…I wonder if Asuma-sensei is married…"

And she sees her chance immediately.

"Yeah, Kurenai-sensei is too pretty to be single…"

"You could always ask."

The girls jump at Sakura's sudden intrusion.

"Ha-ha-haruno! I didn't see you there!" Ino stammers out. Meanwhile, Shoyu waves cheerily.

"Hey hey, Sakura-chan, sit next to me!!"

Sakura blinks at the intimacy implied by Shoyu's statement, before sitting next to her. The girls go back to their conversation.

"Hmph, it's not like Kakashi-sensei would answer. He barely said anything about himself at all during the introduction!"

Sakura intrudes into the conversation.

"Why don't you just check if he has a ring on him somewhere?"

Suddenly, she's got the attention of the whole table.

"Eh?"

"Since our teachers are ninjas, they probably won't wear the rings openly as it might endanger them. However, they might carry a ring of love or something on their necklace or wear it as an earring and such."

The girls eyes widen.

"Wow, you're so smart Haruno! Let's check now!"

Ten minutes later, Sakura can't help but smile as they report back. They crowd around the table, speaking in hushed voices.

"Haruno, you were right! Kurenai-sensei actually wears one golden earring!"

"Yeah, and Kakashi-sensei actually has a ring hidden in his gauntlet! I felt it when I was holding his hand!"

They suddenly realize the implications of this discovery.

"Could it be…Kakashi-sensei and Kurenai-sensei are together?!"

As they squeal and giggle about it together, Sakura pulls Shoyu aside, another plan forming in her head already.

"Uzumaki—"

"Call me Shoyu, we're friends now!"

Sakura pauses.

"…Shoyu-san, remember that favor I asked of you?"

Shoyu nods.

"I'm going to need it now."

Shoyu grins mischievously.

"Hehe…what do you want me to do?"

Sakura whispers her plan into her ear. Shoyu's eyes widen as she takes it in, before her grins settles back into place.

"Alright, gotcha!"

They sit back down at the table as if nothing has happened. Shoyu jumps into the conversation ("Hey hey, did you hear the rumour about how Chika-chan likes Shino?"), while Sakura pretends to be listening.

Minutes later, her chance comes.

* * *

"Anko-sensei, here's your earring." 

Sakura holds up the gold ring, her face blank. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Kurenai play with her hair. Anko grins.

"Ah, thank you. How'd you find it?" She asks.

"Shoyu-san helped."

"That's nice of her. By the way, have you seen Hatake?"

"The last I saw him, he was going to the bathroom." Sakura blinks her eyes innocently. "Maybe he fell asleep."

Anko's grin widens as she understands what had really happened.

"Well then, I must say, enjoy your party."

* * *

Somehow, Sakura ends up in a game of shogi with Shikamaru, with Shino watching on the side. And she was having a fine time losing. Not that she showed it on her face or anything. 

"Your king is vulnerable."

Sakura looks at her shape. _  
_

_…Oh. He's right. Well then…what to do…Well, what would Neji do…_

She moves her piece, and observes how Shino and Shikamaru's eyes widen.

"Wow…that was a sucky move."_  
_

_…The best swordsman in the world fears only the worst._

"Perhaps."

He continues to stare before moving a piece. Before Sakura can even glance at it however, she is pulled out by Shoyu.

"Sakura-chan!! You need to help me with something!"

Sakura looks to Shino.

"Take my place."

He nods and sits in her seat, staring intensely at the board. Shoyu then drags Sakura over to another corner where Hinata is. She glances at Hinata, who looks away shyly, before turning to Shoyu.

"What is it?" Sakura asks.

Shoyu grins.

"Just like you set Sasuke and I up, can you set Hinata up with Kiba?"_  
_

_What am I, a matchmaker?_

Shoyu seems to notice Sakura's unconvinced expression.

"I promise this will be worth your while!! For not only will you get a favor from Hinata-chan, you'll get two favors from me!! Oh, please won't you do it?"_  
_

_I should start to carry around a tally book of who owes me favors…wait, did she just say a favor from Hinata?_

Sakura crosses her arms and looks to Hinata.

"I want to change the deal a bit. If I wanted a scroll from the Hyuuga archive, what would you want in return?"

Hinata's eyes widen.

"Which scroll?"

"The one containing the Curse Seal Release technique."

Hinata looks down.

"…There is no scroll for that. And…I'm not strong enough to be taught it."

"What about the scroll for the seal itself?"

Sakura watches as Hinata bites her lip in thought.

"It's possible…"

"If you can get me that, I'll get it so you can meet with Kiba every week."

Hinata gasps.

"Really?" Her tone is absolutely ecstatic. Shoyu nudges Hinata.

"Go on, say yes! Ino and I can help ya get the scroll, just say yes!" She eggs her on.

Hinata thinks about it for a little while longer, before she nods.

"I agree to this arrangement Haruno-san."

Sakura politely smiles.

"Great. Now, I must ask you, do you like animals?"

"Of course!"

"Even better. Now, if you will excuse me, I will go talk to Inuzuka."

She cuts across the room to the corner in which the dog-lover is sitting, Akamaru sleeping peacefully on his lap.

"Inuzuka."

He jumps in surprise, before looking over her in confusion.

"…Harumi?"

"Haruno." Sakura corrects. "Would your sister be willing to have an assistant?"

Kiba wrinkles his nose in thought.

"Nee-chan?" He says, mulling it out. Then, suddenly he brightens up. "Oh right! She's been complaining about how there's too much work! Why, do you want to be an assistant?"

"No, but Hinata—" Sakura gestures towards the girl. "Hinata has been talking about how she would like to apprentice under a vetrinarian, which made me think of you."

"Hyuuga? Isn't she a bit too…shy to be handling animals?"

"You should talk to her yourself before you judge her."

"Hmm…'spose you're right." Kiba stands up, gently taking Akamaru into his arms. "Do you think she'd mind if I talked to her right now?"

Sakura shakes her head. Kiba nods in acknowledgement before walking to talk to Hinata. She watches as they start a conversation (without Hinata fainting, amazingly enough).

Shoyu runs over to express her gratefulness.

"Sakura-chan, you've done the impossible!!! You could probably make money off being a professional matchmaker!! Wait 'till I tell Ino-chan this!!"

"Wait, Shoyu-san, don't—"

Shoyu runs off.

"—say anything." Sakura finishes tiredly. "Nevermind, I'll just refuse any other request."

* * *

Surprisingly, Sakura's next request did not come from a girl. 

"Haruno."

It was in fact a guy.

"Help me get the other ring."

A guy who went by the name of Uchiha Sasuke.

Sakura tilts her head.

"And in return, what will I get?"

"We can decide that later. For now, I just need to get the ring before Sai."

Sakura glances at Sai, and sees him chatting amiably with Namaishi Ami.

"Fine. Do you know where the ring is?"

Sasuke's face darkens.

"Anko-sensei decided to 'be nice' and tell Sai and I."

_He seems annoyed at that._

"What do you want me to do?"

"Distract Kurenai-sensei."

Sakura nods. She looks to Kurenai, an idea forming into her head.

"I'll try my best."

* * *

"Kurenai-sensei? May I ask you something?" 

The older woman glances at her.

"What is it, Sakura?"

"I was wondering why the Academy library contains rarely any genjutsu scrolls."

Kurenai sets the drink on the table and leans against the counter.

"Well, you see, it's very dangerous to self-teach a genjutsu. The way a genjutsu work is that it tricks the mind into seeing something. That means if you mess up, you can just as easily ruin yours or anothers mind without meaning to. This is one of the reasons why there are so few genjutsu specialists out there. Why do you ask?"

"I've had this idea about creating genjutsu-casting tags, and equipping them to weapons to use the way one would use explosion tags. However, I've been unable to do much, as the Academy library has little research on that topic."

Kurenai frowns thoughtfully.

"That's an interesting idea…Well, I could help you with that, and lend you some scrolls out of my personal library. What kind of genjutsu were you thinking of?"

"Some kind of blinding genjutsu."

Kurenai nods.

"Yes, I think I have something like that. Is there anything else?"

"Well…this is kind of irrelevant…but…"

Kurenai raises an eyebrow.

"What is it?"

Sasuke, here's your chance.

"Is it true that Kakashi-sensei and you are going out?"

SPRAT!!

Kurenai sprays her drink, half-choking and half-coughing. And then she sees it, a senbon flying speedily, almost invisible, through Kurenai's earring. Sakura blinks, and the earring is gone. She looks to Sasuke, who holds up a gold ring.

By now, Kurenai has calmed down, now having the attention of most of the room. Her cheeks are a dark red as she breaths heavily.

"W-where did you hear that?"

Sakura nods towards the girls table.

"That's what they said."

* * *

"Congrats! You all pass." 

Anko had taken dragged all three of them outside and was going to show them something. She walks briskly as the others follow.

"The real objective behind the mission was that you guys had to learn to work with others."

Anko starts her report.

"Sakura, you did an amazing job of manipulating the girls, and did an even better job of distracting Kurenai. Sasuke, your success is due completely to Sakura. However, good job on swallowing that humongous ego of yours so you could ask others for help. Next time, just do it faster."

"Last of all, Sai, though you did not get a ring, you actually tried to talk to Kurenai's girl to help you. Had it not been for Sakura, you definitely would have gotten a ring."

_She's not calling us our nicknames…that's improvement, somewhat._

They stop walking in front of an apartment. Anko takes out a key and puts it in the lock.

"Now, as we are now officially Team SASS—"

"Team SASS?" Sasuke interrupts. Anko narrows her eyes at the interruption, yet smiles proudly as she gets a chance to show off. It somehow ends up looking condescending.

"Yes. S-A-S-S. Sakura, Anko, Sasuke, Sai." Anko coughs. "Now, as I was saying earlier, as we are now officially Team SASS, I would like to introduce you guys to…"

She turns the key, and opens the door with a flourish.

"…Your new home!"

Silence. Silence. Silence.

"What…is this?" Sakura asks.

Anko grins, before taking a piece of paper out of her pocket, the Hokage's signature shining on the bottom.

"I'm your new legal guardian!! As you guys are orphans without any contactable living relatives, I'm allowed to petition to become your foster parent!! Isn't that great!! We're going to be living together!!"_  
_

_…This can't be happening._

"Tell me you're joking…" Sasuke grumbles.

"Is this permanent?" Sai asks. Anko's grin becomes wider.

"Yup! We're _family_ now!"

* * *

AN: This is dedicated to Katearah and Miya, my only reviewers!! Thank you SO much for saying something. You guys ROCK!! If you liked/hated this chapter, thank Katearah for her shining review, as she convinced me to continue it a bit. 

By the way, what would have happened in the random time skip was that Sakura and Anko would have fought, except I _really_ can't write fighting scenes. If anyone has some fics with some good examples of fighting scenes, feel free to tell me. Also, I'm curious...did it seem like the chapter had too much dialogue? That's how it seemed to me...

Anyway, I feel as if I can't go on in life without saying the redundant: please review! Tell me anything - if anything didn't flow well, a favorite line, a suggestion as to what should happen next, or even the obvious beautifully characterized Sakura! Don't be afraid to say something! (Authors are more insecure than you know.)


	7. Tanuki

"Um? Hello?"

Sakura's voice echoes in the classroom. She looks around uncertainly. It remains empty.

"No one's here?"

She backtracks and checks the room number. Yes, 209. She checks the clock. Yes, she's on time. She checks the poster. Yes, the class definitely meets here on Thursdays.

A voice from behind her intrudes her thoughts.

"Hmmm? Well, what do we have here?"

Suddenly sensing the presence (**And we call ourselves a ninja? **Inner Sakura berates herself), she flips around—LAVENDAR EYES! TAN SKIN!!! A NOSE THAT'S WAY TOO CLOSE!

"AIYEEEAH!!!" Sakura lets out shrieks at the proximity of the intruder and jumps back. She clutches at her heart, feeling it beat an impossible rhythm.

"Man, you scream loud."

It's a young woman, looking about four or five years younger than Kakashi. Pale spikes of amethyst hair frame her jaunty face, several stands pulled back into a deliberately messy up-do. She wears a long khaki trench coat over a mesh body glove, her curves clearly defined. Truthfully, however, Sakura isn't really paying attention to that. She's, instead, rather freaked out by the _freakin' trails of blood dripping down her face!_

The woman notices her intense staring and gives her a self-conscious look.

"What? Is something on my fa—Oh." The woman stares at the blood on her fingers and licks it up. She then proceeds to clean the rest of her face in the same fashion. Sakura can only stare in horror.

As the woman finishes, her reaches out her hand (the one that she didn't lick, thank god) to Sakura.

"So? You're the lone student who signed up for my class? You look a bit wimpy but I can deal with that. The name's Anko." She gives a grin that's almost Naruto-like, and almost feral. Only out of courtesy does Sakura grab it shakily.

"And you?"

For a brief flash, Sakura seriously contemplates giving a fake name before running off like a mad woman.

"Ha-haruno Sakura."

The woman's grin seems to get wider as she pulls back to make a dramatic gesturing of the empty class.

"Well then, Sakura, welcome to Criminal Psychology."

Well, at least she knew she was in the right class.

Anko then heads for the door, and gestures for Sakura to follow.

"C'mon, I don't want to stay in this stuffy classroom."

Sakura obediently follows, keeping up the best that she can with the woman's long strides.

"So, Mi-chan (**Mi-chan? **_**Seed?**_), tell me why you're taking this class and not Morino's."

"This was the only one that would fit into my schedule."

Anko gives her a scrutinizing glance.

"Fit into your schedule? What are you, an Academy student?"

"A _genin_." Sakura corrects, slightly offended. Anko scoffs.

"Yeah, they're the same. Still, what's a genin doing in a class like Criminal Psychology?"

Sakura wonders about how to answer. Tell the whole truth, a half-truth, completely lie…

"I'm interested in a certain case. I thought this class might help me examine it."

Anko glances over her again.

"Hmmm? What case?"

To tell or not to tell…might as well.

"The Uchiha Massacre." Sakura answers truthfully after a moment's pause. Anko raises an eyebrow and chuckles.

"Uchiha Itachi? A little sapling like you is interested in _Uchiha Itachi_?" Anko again chuckles a bit. "My, aren't we ambitious."

Sakura frowns childishly.

**Gosh, stop laughing at me already!**

Anko suddenly stops, Sakura nearly bumping into her.

"Well, here we are."

Sakura blinks and suddenly realizes she has no idea where she is.

**I **_**really **_**need to be more aware of my surroundings.**

They stand in a cold, isolated one-way hallway facing a wall of similar characteristics. Sakura looks confusedly to the woman beside her.

"What are we—."

She stops, noticing the hand signs Anko is making. She watches as Anko goes through some motions before putting a bloody palm upon the wall. A wooden door shimmers into view.

"Recognition genjutsu. Fortunately, I got clearance in this area." Anko explains as she swings it open to reveal…another bland room, complete with blank wooden walls and floors. In the middle is a wooden table with a few chairs clustering around it. Upon the wooden table are an open box and a calligraphy brush. Sakura recognizes the symbols carved upon it to be summoning characters.

"Where are we?" She asks, stepping inside it tentatively before Anko shuts it close.

"One of the rooms used in ANBU interrogation. This one is specially designed for creating realistic genjutsus."

Sakura takes the information in interestedly.

"How does it do that?" She asks curiously. Anko pats her head.

"We'll save that for another day, Mi-chan. Anyway, this is where most of our classes together will take place, got it?"

When she sees Sakura's nod, she continues on.

"Okay, let's start. I think the best way to begin this is by watching a few days in the life of a man named Goro."

She forms a few hand seals and before she knows it, Sakura is in another world…

* * *

"Sakura, how's your Criminal Psychology class going?" Kakashi asks her one day during training. Naruto's ears perk up at this. 

"Ehh? Sakura-chan is taking Criminal Psychology? Since when?"

"She just started last week. Even I knew that dobe." Sasuke rolls his eyes. Sakura can't help but blush at this.

**He noticed? Kyaa!!**

"Anko-sensei has a really odd way of teaching," Sakura says, thinking about the sessions with her teacher. "But I kind of like it."

"_Anko-sensei, what's going on?" Sakura says as she looks around at forest foliage that surrounds her. Anko silences her with a finger to her lips._

"_Just wait." She says with a secretive smile._

_And first, Sakura can only look around at the emerald and puce shades the surround her, confused and dazed by the sudden change of scenery. But then—_

_A noise._

"_Anko-se—" Sakura glances up questioningly at the other woman, only to be silenced again by a finger._

"_Just wait." _

_Sakura goes back to staring at the distance that Anko is looking over. Her eyes scrutinizing the meadow, she waits. _

_Black dots._

_Her eyes widen as once again her senses catch another detail she hadn't noticed before. The dots get larger, the noise becomes louder. And then she sees—people. A person is being chased by a group._

"_Don't let him get away!!"_

"_Lady Matsumoto will punish you!"_

"_Give in while you can!!"_

_A leading figure runs closer and closer until Sakura can see his eye color in clear color. Green. Dark green._

_Then he passes by her and is gone._

"_That's our guy." Anko says as she takes Sakura's hand with a grin. "C'mon, let's chase after him."_

_Sakura swears she had never run so fast in her life, genjutsu or not._

"Oooh!! I'd like to take it with you Sakura-chan!" Naruto pipes up. Sakura waves a dismissing hand.

"No, you'd fail." Sakura puts on an exaggeratedly deadpan face. "You'd actually have to pay attention in class, the homework is hard, and she gives pop quizzes."

_As the genjutsu ends, Sakura doesn't move. Her eyes are wide, her mouth frozen in disbelief. It had just…ended?_

_Anko, on the other hand, is seemingly nonchalant about the scene she had just watched. Instead, she takes out a coin and stares it intently._

"_Heads, your luck. Tails, my luck." _

_Then, she flips it in a flashy way, doing a little spin as she throws up high into the air. As she turns back around, the coin starts to fall down in perfect rhythm. Eagerly, Anko grabs it and smacks on the table with a BAM, startling Sakura out of her reverie._

"_Heads!! Alright, I say it's time for a quiz!!"_

_Sakura stares blankly._

"_A quiz…?" And then the words process in her mind. "A QUIZ?? I didn't even have time to study!"_

"_Pshaw, sure you did. You just watched the material, didn't you? The images are still fresh in your mind."_

_For some odd reason, Sakura can't help but think that Anko seems to relish in her suffering._

"_Don't worry, it won't be too hard."_

_Anko leans back into her chair lazily, crossing her legs and arms._

"_Here's my question: Who's to blame for the way Goro's life turned out?"_

_Sakura blinks. Truthfully, she hates when Anko asks these types of questions. Though she knows there's no right answer, Anko always seems to word them to make them seem as if they do. At times like these, she's learned to just speak her mind._

"_Well…You could blame his sister, his motivation for his crimes. But then with that, you could blame his parents, and their parents and so on and so on. And then, you could also blame other people in the world, for by not being there, they change his life without doing anything. So…you could blame anyone."_

_Anko nods solemnly, her grin never changing._

"_So then, if I use that same argument, could I say that no one could be blamed?" Anko responds. Here eyes are riveted upon Sakura, watching her reaction._

_Sakura, unaware of the attention she's receiving, thinks through the argument that she hears. Her eyes are clouded in thought, her teeth biting into her lip unconsciously. One could practically see her mind working._

"…_That's right!" Sakura realizes. It's a weird feeling, to be enlightened for the first time. It's just a thought that occurs to you, as sudden as lighting. But as soon as it has implanted into one's mind, it's stuck for life._

_Anko grin becomes imperceptibly larger._

"_Alright then. I suppose you pass."_

Naruto's eyes widen in ghastly horror.

"…P-pop quizzes!" He exclaims, his face haunted by a deadly history of barely passing. Sakura narrows her eyes even more.

"Yup, pop quizzes. You'd have to _study everyday_." Sakura emphasizes, enjoying Naruto's reactions. Speaking of her class—"Oh, Kakashi-sensei! I forgot to tell you!! Anko-sensei told me to tell you that she's taking me on a field trip so that I'll be gone for a week or so."

Kakashi raises one (the only seen) eyebrow.

"Field trip? Where to?"

Sakura grins.

"The Land of Water!"

Kakashi nods thoughtfully.

"Land of Water you say…" He murmurs, deep in thought. He claps his hands together. "I suppose today would be a good day to work on chakra control then, no?"

* * *

"Mi-chan, don't forget, we're meeting at the gate this Saturday at noon!" Anko says as they leave the building, when she stops. "Oh, I forgot to ask you something." 

Sakura turns and looks at her questioningly.

"What is it?"

"Do you have traveling clothes?"

Sakura tugs at her dress.

"This is it."

Anko raises an eyebrow, looking over her with a critical eye.

"Tell me you're joking."

Sakura frowns in defense.

"What's wrong with it?"

Anko goes up to it and starts to critique it.

"Well for one, it's a _dress_. How do you expect to fight in it when it gets tangled in everything? Second, it's _bright red_. How do you expect to blend in with your surroundings with that color?"

"It's pretty on me." Sakura protests.

"Yeah, pretty girly. Kid, this is a ninja's world. Unless you're aiming to seduce the enemy, you better get something better."

Despite her protests, Sakura finds herself being dragged to a clothing store.

"Okay, here we are. You're going to choose something _efficient_, _comfortable_, and _practical_." Anko says, emphasizing every word as if talking to a small child. "That's means no dresses or skirts, and absolutely no bright colors."

Seeing Sakura's look of annoyance, Anko adds something extra.

"Think of it like an extra assignment for class. Choose clothing that you think Uchiha Itachi would choose. It'll help you undersand."

With that, Sakura can't help but agree that she has a point. Finding herself beaten, she goes off to find an outfit.

Half an hour later, Sakura finds Anko sitting on a bench, happily munching on a stick of dango. With a glance up, Anko finds herself looking at a disgruntled Sakura.

Sakura is nervously fidgeting her long black shirt, exposing the red velvet insides. Her hair is now tied up in a low ponytail, a few strands left handing by her face. A high collar covers the bottom of Sakura's face, hiding her neck completely save for the slit in the front.

"This was the best I could find." Sakura defends herself, though from what, she's not sure. Anko continues to stare.

"Hmm…Not bad." Anko gets up, a look of approval on her face.

Sakura feels a fluttering in her stomach, a grin crawling to her face.

"You think so—OH!"

Sakura squeaks and jumps behind Anko, her face peeking out just slightly. For there, just beyond the trees is—

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura breathes out, watching the boy from the distance. A blush forms upon her face as her closed hand covers her smile. She remains that way, even after he has walked on.

She doesn't notice how Anko's face expression turns oddly cool.

"You…like the Uchiha brat?"

Sakura jumps, seeming to have forgotten Anko's presence.

"Eh? Anko-sensei?"

Her sensei is already walking ahead.

"Don't be late."

* * *

Sakura can't help but feel annoyed. Not only was the old man that they were protecting very annoying and condescending ("Are you sure you _females _are able to protect me?"), but Anko also seemed to be ignoring her. Sakura would ask a question, and then would get a short one or two word answer. And after a while, it became _really _frustrating. 

SPLASH!

Cold. Her feet and ankles are cold. And wet. Like a large and slimy bug.

**Oh, **_**hell **_**no.**

"Shannaro!!!" Sakura explodes. "Not only do I have to go through this whole _stupid _mission with two people who are ignoring me, but I just HAD to step into a puddle!! You stupid thing of water!!!"

STOMP! STOMP! STOMP!

"Take that you evil thing!! DIE!!! DIEE!! DIEE!!!!!"

In her rampant puddle splashing, she doesn't notice many things. One: two people are staring at her like she's crazy. Two: That she's only getting herself wetter. And last of Three: The puddle is making weird noises.

"Sakura, stop."

So surprised by Anko's use of her name, Sakura immediately stops. And suddenly, with a pop, the puddle transforms into two unconscious masses. But once again, there are many things that Sakura doesn't notice.

"AIEEE!!! I'm wet!! Ew—AH!!"

So when Sakura steps backwards and trips over these two unconscious masses, which also could be identified as human, she finds herself surprised.

"Huh? Anko-sensei, when did these people get here?"

Anko just shakes her head. Minutes later, the two are tied up and awakened (courtesy of Anko and a pail of cold water).

For a moment, it's all silent as the everyone just looks around at one another, save for Anko who is staring intently at the two's eyes. Then she straightens up as she looks over to Sakura.

"Yo, Mi-chan, want to learn a new jutsu?"

* * *

AN: Summary: Sakura takes Criminal Psychology in order to understand Uchiha Itachi better, thus leading her to understand Sasuke better. Unfortunately, her genin status does not allow her the free schedule of a chuunin or a jounin. She ends up in Mitarashi Anko's class--alone. 

For some reason, I hesitated to post this one up. I don't know why, but already I feel like I'm straying from the plot. Which isn't really that great of a sign when one starts out. But I also kind of like this one because for once in my stories, Sakura is the whiny spoiled brat she is at the beginning of the Naruto series.

Also, I just read over my stories again and only just noticed the spelling and grammar mistakes. Forgive me if I made your eyes bleed. I truly do proofread but...somehow, a lot of stuff escapes my eyes.


	8. Sheep

_Sakura, _

_Since you didn't show up at the meeting spot, we went ahead without you so we wouldn't miss the ship. We trust that you can get back by yourself. We'll meet up with you back at Konoha._

With hands of murderous intent, she clamps and crushes the paper. Her arms shake as she lights up like a match, red eyes glinting within the fire.

Riiiiiip. One shred floats to the ground. Riiiiiip. Another piece goes down.

"Shannaro…" She growls out.

Riiiip. Riiiip. Riip. Riip. Ripripripripripriprip.

The letter is by now completely annihilated, all the remnants falling to the ground innocently.

"I'm going to _kill you all_."

Which is how Sakura somehow found herself lost in the Land of the Waterfall.

* * *

…And, it turned out the next ship to Konoha wasn't for another month.

Sakura stomps through the village, body taut with fury. She sees nothing in her red haze of anger, save for the day's earlier scenes.

"_Excuse me, when is the next ship for Konoha going to depart?" Sakura voices politely. The worker scratches his head in thought._

"_Well, the last one just left yesterday…so…that would be…Ah!" The man brightens up as he remembers. "Next month!"_

_...What?_

_A demonic aura starts to surround Sakura, her green eyes taking on a red glint. _

"_Is there any way to arrange for a ship to leave earlier?" She asks, her voice calm but obviously strained. The man seems to shrink back in fear of the scary girl._

"_S-sorry, b-but we are o-on a shortage of boats! W-we can't do that!"_

_Sakura's expression only gets darker, the aura around her turning into crimson black as she narrows his eyes. _

_The man ends up running away._

Sakura's hands clench into fists.

_How dare Kakashi-sensei and Naruto leave me here!! Of course, Sasuke-kun has nothing to do with it, as he would never do that to me, but SERIOUSLY!! What happened to teamwork?! What happened to NOT LEAVING A FREAKING COMRAD BEHIND!! You HYPOCRITES!!_

Unbeknownst to Sakura, people around her had noted her angry emanation, and had unconsciously cleared a path for her to storm around in. Save for one.

FWAP!

Before she knows it she—

"Ah…!"

—Has hit the ground rather hard with her butt.

"Ow…"

Sakura is about to push herself up when a hand enters her vision.

"My apologies. I wasn't looking." All Sakura's hears is the girl's dispassionate voice as she pulls herself up with the help of the stranger.

"No no, it's my fault too…" Sakura says immediately, and looks to the girl, about to thank her when—

…_Oh. My. God._

Unconsciously, Sakura's mouth drops open and starts to point at the other girl, her mouth forming silent words.

The girl stares back, her mahogany eyes questioning Sakura's expression. Finally, after a minute of Sakura staring, she snaps out, "What?"

Suddenly, Sakura seems to find her voice.

"PINK HAIR!!"

Immediately, Sakura recoils back, her hand covering her mouth in horror.

_I did not just say that. I did not just say that. I did NOT just say that…Oh my god, I just said that. Naruto's infecting me!!_

"Excuse me?"

Though still quite emotionless, the girl's voice has become a bit more cool…sharp…angry. Sakura snaps out of her inner stuterring.

"A-ah…ummm…I just meant to say that you're the only person who I've ever seen with pink hair other than myself and I'm kind of shocked because not even my mom or dad had pink hair and that I think it's really cool because it's nice to know that at least my hair isn't all too uncommon and OH! Thank you for helping me get back up and I'm sorry that I bumped into you because I wasn't really paying attention…"

Sakura (finally) realizes she's babbling and stops suddenly. Then she sticks out her hand.

"Hi, I'm Sakura."

The girl stares at the hand. Then, almost hesitantly, she takes it.

"Tayuya."

There's a moment of silence as Sakura and Tayuya's hands are touching, before Tayuya pulls back.

A bit of awkward tension follows.

"So...Tayuya-san, would you like to go out for lunch or something?" Sakura blurts out to break the silence.

_AH!! I just asked a stranger out!! Oh my god, Naruto really is affecting me! Man, Sakura, think for once!_

Tayuya is silent, each moment making Sakura even more uncomfortable. Just when Sakura is about to apologize for being so rude, Tayuya answers.

"Un."

* * *

AN: Bit short. Could be a one-shot. Could be a story. Who knows. It's kinda random...yeah. But I think it's an odd idea nontheless. Whoo. 


	9. Grass Jelly Drink

"Hmmm?"

Sakura stares at the glittering metal. _…Wait. Glittering? Since when does metal glitter?_

She goes closer to the corner, foreboding shadows falling over the little crack. And she sees it. A ring.

Her curious fingers seek out the little thing and pick up it without thought.

With a start she realizes… _Curses, it could have been a trap and I would have fallen into it blindly! _

But no, the ring does not explode. Nor does the floor below her open up. _Okay, it's safe._

She stares at the illuminated black strokes on the ring, shadowed by grey.

"Void…" She whispers to herself, reading the kanji. For some reason, Sakura knows that she has seen this ring before. _Somewhere…somewhere…Shannaro!_ She doesn't know.

"Sakura-chan! Did you find anything?" Naruto's voice echoes in the distance.

Sakura hurriedly puts the ring on her pinky.

"I'm coming!" she calls back.

She rushes to...

…Huh?

_What is going…going…going…_

Black. Pitch black.

…_on…?_

Pain.

Nothing.

* * *

…ra?

…neh…ra?

…_What? Say that again?_

She isn't heard.

…plea…

…She is…

…ut…

_Stop ignoring me! Speak so I can hear you!_

Heavy. Her eyes are heavy. No.

She will open them.

_Push…Push…_

_They're far away._

_Who?_

_Doesn't matter. Push…open…nnrgh…_

The voices are clearer.

"…aH! Look…"

…_Just a bit futher…_

_BLINDING LIGHT._

"Argh!!" Sakura cries and immediately closes her eyes, a thin lake trailing out of one eye. A crushing bind is placed on her shoulder. Somehow, she knows it's Naruto.

"Sakura-chan!!! What's wrong, does it hurt? Are you oka–"

"Shu -ugh- Shut up!" Sakura croaks out. Her voice feels sluggish and muddy, hard to move through.

And then...her shoulder is freeeee. Light as a feather…flying.

"Naruto, if you can't behave I'm going to have to kick you out."

"NO! I'm sorry, Tsunade-baachan! I'll do anything, just don't kick me out!!!"

"Shi—" Sakura coughs. Immediately, all noise stops and she feels herself surrounded. A cool hand is placed on her forehead.

"Shh…Sakura, don't push yourself too hard," she hears Tsunade's warm voice say. "Do you think you can open your eyes for me?"

Sakura swallows and nods. She takes a deep breath and pushes again.

_BLINDIN—_She narrows her eyes until everything is reduced to black dots. The hand is taken off her forehead.

"Naruto, turn off the lights and close the shades." Tsunade barks. Sakura watches as the black shadow that she assumes is Naruto snaps to it. Within seconds, the room has become…cool. She opens her eyes fully.

"Shishou…wha—cough—what happened?" Sakura asks weakly. Tsunade, slightly distracted as she looks closely into Sakura's eyes, responds.

"Team 7 was put on the mission to search Orochimaru's old hideout, remember?" Tsunade moves to the other eye as Sakura nods. "You were found in one of the rooms, collapsed."

Sakura processes the information. That's right…she remembers…

"Hmm…no poison." Tsunade notes as she moves back. "Sakura, do you remember what happened?"

…_the ring!_

She jerkily pulls her hand up, staring at her pinky. The ring stares back at her.

…(They're far away)…

_That phrase again! What does it mean?_

"Sakura?"

Sakura is startled out of her thoughts.

"Yes, shishou?"

"What are you looking at?"

…_What?_

"Yeah, Sakura-chan! You looked possessed for a moment when you were staring at your hand!" Naruto adds in.

"Wait…you mean…you can't…" Sakura tries to voice her thoughts. She looks to the two of them and then back to her hand.

_You can't see the ring?_

"We can't what, Sakura?" Tsunade cuts in sharply.

Sakura for some reason can't help but feel as if she's in an interrogation.

"A-ah…I'm sorry…I thought for a moment I saw some blood on my hand…" she lies, looking down sheepishly. She feels the tension loosen up.

Tsunade stands up and grabs onto Naruto's collar. She walks toward the door, dragging a protesting and unrelenting Naruto.

"Get some sleep Sakura."

…(closer)…(one's closer)…

* * *

She drowns in water.

It's the feeling that one feels when they wake up from deep sleep. Like drowning in water.

She takes gasps of breath, one after another nonstop. Pale moonlight is filtered through the windows. It is night. The quiet echoes through the hospitals hallways. It is late.

…(close)…

Sweat drips from her brow.

…(close)…

Then she feels it. The buzzing in her pinky finger. Her chakra is leaning towards a direction…(it's calling her)…like a compass.

She follows.

In only her hospital nightgown, she climbs out the window silently. Like a cat, she makes her body to use the air to her advantage as she lands. Her feet touch the ground, pulsing with chakra.

And she takes off.

She is being guided. She is being drawn.

Her body moves on it's own.

Time stands still, for to her, everything is a blur. Hours have become seconds, minutes have become millenniums, but time stands still. For the wind is guiding her.

She has never felt like she has now. It's oddly ironic that the best time she has ever felt something is when she passes it in a blur. She is surrounded by nature…wood, stone, leaf, water…she passes over everything and she is flying. The land is guiding her.

…(close)…

…(closer)…

…(closer)…

…(_closer_)…

…(_CLOSER_)…

She is there.

Her sudden stop causes the both of them to feel the wind. It's almost romantic the way their hair is airborne, the way the leaves and petals surround them, the way their eyes meet. Black and pink mingle. Sakura petals pass emerald leaves. Crimson black holes find jade pearls.

They are so close that any outsider might remark that they look intimate. Like lovers about to kiss.

It's the moment that the world ends.

Sakura breathes his name out, almost a hiss, almost a carress, almost _something_…but not.

"Uchiha Itachi…"

And somehow…she _knows _what she has to do.

"_You are mine_."

* * *

Flap…flap…ruffle…

Her eyes are open.

She's alone, back in the hospital. _Uchiha Itachi, ring, binding…was it all a dream? It seemed to real…but not at the same time._

Her eyes search the room, landing on the letter by her beside. Naruto's signature chicken scratch marks it's space. She picks it up.

_Sakura-chan,_

_Sorry I can't be there with you right now, but Tsunade-baachan is sending me on a new mission…looking for you-know-who…_

_Anyway, I'll be leaving tomorrow morning! Maybe you can come to see me off?_

_Naruto_

"Looking for…you-know—" Sakura gasps.

_They can't go without me!_

Her feet are spirited, light but quick footsteps among the pavement. She passes through the window, the trees, past Ichiraku and into the Hokage's office. She pushes the door aside with a **BAM**!

"Shishou! Forgive me for the intrusion, but I must go on that mission with Naruto!"

Tsunade blinks, Sakura's sudden appearance interrupting her paperwork. Her eyes look over Sakura.

"Sakura, what—Haahh…this is annoying." Tsunade drinks her sake. She takes a deep breath before starting to talk again. "Sakura, I'm afraid I must refuse. We still don't know the cause of your collapse, so to send you out to field would be dangerous."

Sakura narrows her eyes in determination, about to respond when she stops. She straightens up and holds her chin high.

"Hokage-sama, I request permission to change rank."

Tsuande studies Sakura carefully, curious about the change in demeanor.

"Alright then, what do you wish to become?"

Sakura smiles, her grin almost a smirk.

"A wandering-nin."

Tsunade narrows her eyes at this.

"…A wandering-nin?"

Sakura stares straight back.

"Do you have any reason to refuse my request?" She asks politely, the look in her eyes daring the Hokage to answer her challenge.

She doesn't. Tsunade instead just pulls back as a long sigh drags out of her.

"No. I trust you know what to do?"

"Yes."

Tsunade takes another swing of her sake before going to look out the window.

"…Fine. Dismissed."

Sakura bows, murmuring her thanks before turning to leave.

"Sakura."

Sakura doesn't move.

"You're not going chase after him, are you?"

Sakura smiles and lets out a snort.

"_Hell_ no."

_Well…at least not the him you're thinking of._

…(He's far away)…

* * *

AN: Summary - Well, if I knew what it was about, I'd tell you. Maybe you can tell me?

Just a question: If you had to choose one story out of this collection, which one would you want me to continue? Summer vacation is coming so I'm going to have a lot of free time...


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